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Back-to-school is just around the corner. And with the lazy, hazy days of summer drawing to a close, now’s the time that many families start prepping for the busy school year ahead. One item to include on your to-do list? Setting up your child for another year of healthy teeth and gums.

 

But how do you do that? Here, Dr. Patel and the team at The Brace Place have 5 ways you can set your kids up for healthy teeth this year.

 

1. Schedule Check Ups and Cleanings With Your Dentist

 

To start the school season with healthy teeth, schedule your kids’ twice-annual dental check-ups and cleanings to coincide with the school year schedule. The first one can happen before the fall so it doesn’t interfere with school hours or after-school activities. And if your check-ups reveal less-than-healthy teeth because of cavities or gum disease, you can get them fixed before school begins. Or least before your child’s schedule starts in full swing.

 

At a check-up, your dentist has the chance to see if your kids have healthy smiles and suggest both at-home and professional cavity prevention. Some suggested treatments might include:

 

• Fluoride to strengthen teeth
• Dental sealants to create a barrier against tooth decay
• A mouthguard for sports to prevent dental trauma

 

A check-up is also an opportunity for your dentist to provide a refresher on brushing kids’ teeth. A mini-lesson is especially helpful for younger kids who are transitioning from their adult brushing and flossing their teeth to managing it on their own. A dentist can also check in on your child’s oral development and, if needed, suggest orthodontics that will improve your kid’s smile.

 

2. Kick-Start a Daily Solid Oral Hygiene Routine For Healthy Teeth 

 

As mentioned, your dentist is a great resource for learning how to brush and floss for healthy teeth at home. Put their professional advice into practice by establishing a good oral care routine with your kids that can continue once school starts. Kids (and adults!) should brush twice a day — in the morning and before bed — and floss daily. 

 

Now, we know that brushing kids’ teeth well day in and day out sometimes requires a little incentive. Here are a few tips for getting your kids excited about maintaining healthy teeth every day:

 

• Let them choose their own toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss – Kids are more interested in maintaining a healthy smile when they get to choose tools they like. Just be sure they opt for a soft toothbrush and toothpaste with fluoride.As for flossing, younger kids might like the ease of floss picks, while older kids are typically able to hold floss with their fingers. And did you know dental floss comes in plenty of kid-friendly flavors? There are also kids’ water flossers that make flossing fun and easy.

 

• Talk about why healthy teeth and gums matter – It’s not uncommon for kids to ask their parents why teeth brushing is so important. Explain to your kids that a healthy smile equals teeth that look and function at their best. For example, cavities and gum disease can be painful, cause tooth sensitivity to hot and cold, or make eating difficult.

 

 

3. Plan A Menu of Teeth-Healthy Lunches and Snacks

 

It goes without saying that healthy eating contributes to healthy teeth and gums. While you and your kids have time in the summer, come up with teeth-healthy lunch and snack ideas together that you’re all excited about. 

 

Foods good for teeth include colorful fruits and vegetables like carrots, tomatoes and berries. These have vitamins A and C that help strengthen gums. Crunching on hard veg like cucumbers, celery and broccoli helps manually scrub teeth of sticky sugars.

 

Cheese and yogurt have bone-strengthening calcium and vitamin D. And studies have shown that cheese is great for cavity prevention… and sometimes helps keeps teeth white! How? Cheddar, mozzarella, or gouda help clear out mouth sugars and bacteria that can cause stains and tooth decay. 

 

Want more food ideas that support healthy teeth and gums? This earlier post has healthy snack ideas for kids with braces but applies to kids without them, too!

 

 

4. Include a Water Bottle For All-Day Hydration

 

If your child’s school doesn’t already suggest it, send your child to school with a full water bottle so they have access to hydration all day — they can usually refill it at school. Supply water instead of sugary juice boxes, which can contribute to plaque and tooth decay. Being well hydrated also helps keep your child’s mouth moist. Saliva helps wash away food debris and is an important part of keeping a pH environment that discourages bacteria.

 

 

5. See a Kids Orthodontist 

 

Whether your dentist recommends an orthodontic visit for your kids or not, it’s a good idea to take your child to their first orthodontic visit early. Orthodontics for kids can go a long way in helping maintain healthy teeth and gums for life: straight teeth and a normal bite help with the cavity and tooth decay prevention they deserve. 

 

But at what age should kids see an orthodontist? Well, the American Association of Orthodontists suggests that kids see an orthodontist by age seven. By this time, a few adult teeth have already grown in and their jaw shape is pretty much established. A highly trained orthodontic specialist like Dr. Patel can spot potential issues like misaligned teeth or a bad bite that might benefit from early orthodontic treatment or monitoring.

 

A Healthy Smile with The Brace Place

 

Excited to start the school year with a teeth-happy plan? Include a visit to your Claremore and Tulsa, OK orthodontist to give your kids a head start on their oral health this year.

Contact us today for a free initial consultation before the school year starts!

When your Tulsa and Claremore orthodontist recommends an orthodontic expander for your elementary school-aged child, you might have a few questions before moving forward with it. “What exactly is an orthodontic expander?” You might ask. “What does it do?” and “When do they need it?”

Before we get into the answers, let’s take a step back. The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) suggests seven years-old is a great time to take your child for an initial orthodontic visit. By age seven, children typically have some of their adult teeth and their bite is beginning to take shape. At this point, a certified orthodontist like Dr. Patel can see any potential orthodontic issues and assess if your child will benefit from early orthodontic treatment like an expander.

So What is an Orthodontic Expander?

An orthodontic expander is an appliance that gradually widens your child’s jaw and palate, allowing room for their adult teeth to grow in normally or to correct jaw misalignment. Every orthodontic expander is custom-made to fit a child’s natural palate. 

At The Brace Place, we typically suggest a palatal expander in early orthodontic treatment when your child’s upper jaw needs widening. Depending on your child’s orthodontic issues, your Tulsa and Claremore orthodontist, Dr. Patel, will suggest either a removable or fixed expander that is made up of two halves connected by a tiny screw in the middle.

How Does a Palatal Expander Work?

A palatal expander applies gradual pressure to widen the space in your child’s mouth over a 3-12 month period. It’s attached to the upper jaw against the palate and held in place with wires around the molars. Here, we’ll explain how it works:

Orthodontic Palatal Expander

Often, parents’ first question is how to tighten an expander. You simply use a special key to turn the small screw in the center of the palatal expander every day. Activating the screw pushes the palatal expander outward incrementally, less than one millimeter a day. Did you know that the right and left sides of a child’s upper jaw develop as two halves? These two bones — called maxillary bones — don’t fuse together until around or after puberty. So a palatal expander is essentially widening the two sides independently.

Once your orthodontist sees that your child’s jaw has widened the correct amount, the ortho expander will stay in for a few months more so that new bone can develop in the gap and stabilize the expansion.

When Is An Orthodontic Expander Needed?

Dr. Patel might suggest a palatal expander if your child has severe crowding, a crossbite or impacted teeth that look as if they’ll worsen as your child develops.

Crowding: If your child’s teeth are crowding even before all their adult teeth have erupted, widening their jaw with an expander might lessen the need for tooth extractions or braces later on. Crowding also affects how well your child can brush and floss their teeth.

Crossbite: A crossbite is when upper teeth misalign, sitting inside lower teeth because the upper jaw is too narrow. A palatal expander widens your child’s jaw, stacking the top and bottom teeth correctly.

Impacted Teeth: Sometimes an adult tooth hasn’t come in yet because its spot is blocked by other teeth. Widening the upper jaw can open up space for the impacted tooth to erupt on its own into its designated spot. 

Orthodontic Expander Pros and Cons:

We know that early orthodontic treatment like an ortho expander can be a big decision. We can also agree that we’re more used to seeing teens going through orthodontic care than younger children. But rest assured, at The Brace Place we follow the AAO’s suggestion of delaying treatment when issues are mild and only suggest early orthodontic treatment when absolutely necessary. Here are some pros and cons of orthodontic expander treatment to think about:

Pros:

• Shortens the time your child will need braces later on
• Lessens the need for tooth removals
• Creates room for emerging adult teeth
• Straighter teeth and aligned jaws means more effective brushing and flossing
• A more aesthetically pleasing smile and improves confidence
• Improves your child’s breathing
• Improves chewing and eating

Cons:

• It takes some time for your child to get used to eating with the expander
• It can initially affect how your child speaks 
• Children aren’t always keen on the extra cleaning needed for their expander
• An expander can cause some tenderness when adjusted, though this goes away quickly

Ways You Can Help Your Child Get Used To Their Expander

Understandably, an orthodontic expander can feel like an overwhelming experience for a child. We at The Brace Place want to share a few suggestions for how you can make the transition more comfortable:

Offer some expander-friendly foods: Make the first few days of expander-wearing more fun and easy when it comes to foods. Soft foods like yogurt, smoothies, soup, or mashed potatoes will help, versus foods that need a lot of chewing.

Be ready to soothe discomfort: Because they’re not used to their expander, your child might feel pressure or discomfort on their teeth or palate at the beginning. Sometimes children also feel pressure in their nose or mouth when the orthodontic expander is placed or activated. Over-the-counter pain relief helps. Cold treats can make your child feel more comfortable and lift their mood.

Help your child with their oral hygiene: Has your child been brushing and flossing on their own these past few years? Now is a good time to get involved again. Show your child how to clean their teeth and expander and help them get used to the extra care and time it takes.

Keep us in-the-loop: Though problems with orthodontic expanders are rare, please contact us at our Tulsa or Claremore office if you have any concerns or questions about your child’s expander. If you see a gap growing in your child’s top front teeth, don’t be alarmed, this is normal and is a sign that your child’s palate is expanding. This can then be corrected with braces in the teen years.

Your Child’s Smile is Our Priority

At The Brace Place, we believe every child deserves a chance at a healthy, confident smile. If an orthodontic expander is recommended for your child, Dr. Patel has 20 years of orthodontic experience helping children successfully navigate early orthodontic treatment. Contact us today to book your free, initial early orthodontic consultation at our Tulsa or Claremore offices.