How To Keep Your Teen’s Teeth Healthy

Parents are usually very attentive to the care of their babies’ teeth: they track the appearance of the first teeth, their change, and help children brush their teeth. Teenagers receive much less attention, although this is also important for them – proper care will ensure dental health in adulthood.

I will tell you how to properly care for the teeth of adolescents.

Choose the right toothbrush

Taking care of dental health always starts with choosing a toothbrush, because it is the main tool of daily care. When choosing a brush for a teenager, it is especially important to pay attention to the type of bristles.

Soft bristles are suitable for teenagers with gum disease, bleeding gums and high sensitivity of the teeth. Medium – the best choice, suitable for almost all adolescents without problems with gums and teeth. Hard bristles are only suitable for teenagers with strong gums and increased plaque formation that cannot be removed by medium-hard bristles.

When choosing a brush, it is important to pay attention to the type of bristles. A brush that combines several types of bristles will be most effective: the long bristles along the edges actively clean the areas around the gums, and the shortened ones in the middle – the chewing surface of the teeth.

If a teenager needs additional strengthening of teeth or remineralization of enamel, it is worth buying a brush with additional substances, such as calcium, added to the bristles. Good for cleaning teeth and brushes with bamboo charcoal.

If a teenager develops plaque on his teeth and cannot be removed with an ordinary brush, I recommend buying an electric or ultrasonic brush, which is more effective than usual to deal with plaque.

Consider the peculiarities of oral health when choosing a paste

In stores you can find a large number of pastes: fluoride and fluoride free, antibacterial and whitening, anti-caries and anti-odor, for hypersensitive teeth and for gums that need special care. There are separate pastes for those who wear braces.

Many are wrongly afraid of fluoride in the paste. Fluoride is completely safe for humans and their teeth in low concentrations. Fluoride pastes strengthen teeth, but may indeed be contraindicated in some dental diseases. For example, some teens have fluorosis, a dental disease that is caused by excess fluoride. They need a fluoride-free paste. It can be replaced by a substance theobromine, which is obtained from cocoa beans.

Floss gaps

Floss, or dental floss, helps remove plaque and food debris from the interdental spaces where the bristles cannot reach. It is imperative to use the thread for both adolescents and adults so that plaque and food debris do not provoke the development of caries and inflammation of the gums.

There are also flossers — small cleaning devices with a taut thread. It is easier to use them: you do not need to wind and fasten the thread on your fingers. They are more expensive than regular floss packs, but they are excellent at cleaning dental gaps.

Flush the interdental spaces with an irrigator

An irrigator is a device for home use that delivers a thin stream of water under pressure of various strengths, which cleans the teeth and interdental spaces. It can and should be used not only for adolescents, but also for adults. It is especially important for those who wear braces, because without its help it is almost impossible to clean teeth properly.

Irrigators are available in the form of a large “station” for the whole family with 4-6 different nozzles, and in the form of small compact devices for individual use. A teenager is likely to do just that.

Use mouth rinses and balms after brushing your teeth

After all hygiene procedures, rinse your mouth with mouthwash or balm. The mouthwash will soothe the gums, reduce the sensitivity of the teeth, kill the remaining bacteria, and help get rid of bad breath.

It is important to understand that a rinse aid is the final stage of hygiene procedures, which cannot replace a complete cleaning.