Keeping Your Mouth Healthy During Pregnancy
January 27, 2016Tired? Tell your dentist.
April 14, 2016Being a parent can be tough. Somehow, you need to make time for cooking, cleaning, extra-curricular activities, helping with homework, scheduling appointments and still staying sane. Understandably, there are times when certain tasks get put on hold while keeping up with daily life. However, we want to remind you of the importance of making sure your child has his or her routine dentist visit every 6 months.
Oral Health and Performance in School
Not only is your child’s oral health important physically, it’s important mentally—poor oral health can affect their GPA. Studies have shown that children who have poor oral health are almost three times more likely than their peers to miss school due to dental pain. These absences are associated with poorer performance in school.1
Differentiating Between Absences
You might ask yourself, “But what if my child has to miss school for a dental appointment? Wouldn’t that lead to poor performance, too?” The answer: No. The study found that there was no association between an absence for a routine visit and school performance.2 Although it is not determined why performance is linked to pain-related absence and not routine appointment absence, two possible explanations include a) children with pain-related absence are more likely to miss a full day or more of classes, and b) pain may continue to distract student learning when the child returns to class if the dental problem is not addressed.
Children at Risk
What makes these findings even more important is the number of children at risk. According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), 42% of children ages 2–11 have developed cavities in their baby teeth, and 21% have developed cavities in their permanent teeth. Thirty-one percent of children in this range have cavities or decay (between primary and permanent teeth) left untreated.3 Nearly one-third of children are at risk of experiencing poorer performance in school due to dental pain.
Stay Ahead of the Game
Although there are certainly ways to reduce the likelihood of developing a cavity (such as brushing, flossing, drinking fluoridated water, and eating healthy foods), routine visits are imperative for “deep cleaning” and to catch any potential oral health issues before they progress.
To schedule your child’s appointment with Dr. Leonard, call 952-443-3368.
1Jackson, S. L., Vann, W. F., Kotch, J. B., Pahel, B. T., & Lee, J. Y. Impact of Poor Oral Health on Children’s School Attendance and Performance. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222359/
2Jackson, S. L., Vann, W. F., Kotch, J. B., Pahel, B. T., & Lee, J. Y. Impact of Poor Oral Health on Children’s School Attendance and Performance. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222359/
3National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. (2014). Dental Caries (Tooth Decay) in Children (Age 2 to 11). Retrieved from http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/DataStatistics/FindDataByTopic/DentalCaries/DentalCariesChildren2to11.htm