This year, Crossroads Family Dental encourages parents to include a dental appointment on their back-to-school list. A healthy smile improves a child’s confidence and self-esteem, but also reduces school absences and enhances their classroom performance. Although studies from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment show that students in the state have fewer cavities today than a decade ago, many children still miss school days due to a toothache or other oral health concerns.
Untreated oral health problems distract kids in the classroom, which may cause them to fall behind in their work. Discomfort and pain cause trouble concentrating for many students. In fact, when a child has serious tooth decay, it affects their speech, learning ability, and even their ability to eat lunch. It’s also pretty embarrassing for a child to suffer from oral health concerns. Kids can be pretty mean, and oftentimes children with oral health concerns find they become the brunt of jokes, even from friends.
Regular dental care offers early detection and treatment of various oral health conditions that may affect your child’s school readiness and learning ability. Children in Colorado are not required by law to have an oral health exam, but parents should certainly take matters into their own hands to protect their child’s teeth, oral health, and the education received at one of the state’s area schools.
A dental exam should be a part of every child’s back-to-school checklist. For families with low income or no dental insurance, programs and resources offer free care to children. Check out free dental care events, especially around this time of the year. Take advantage of any services that you may need for your children, but would otherwise be unable to afford. Read over your insurance policy to ensure that you are taking advantage of all the benefits the policy offers.
Keep the following tips in mind to help ease the back-to-school dental exam for your children.
- Be a Positive Example: Children learn from parents and other adults. They learn what they see, so if they see you are scared to visit the dentist, they’ll likely also feel uncomfortable. Set a positive example for your children.
- Choose the Right Dentist: Here are Crossroads Family Dental, we focus our care on our patients. We have experience working with children of all ages and strive to create a comfortable, relaxing environment for them. We offer comprehensive dental care in a welcoming, friendly atmosphere.
- Make Sure Kids Know What to Expect: Let your children know ahead of time that they’ll visit the dentist and what to expect. Explain the procedures and the importance of the dental visit. Work on techniques to ease their fears and discomforts and let them know you’ll be by their side every step of the way.
- Reward the Kids: When kids know there is a reward after their dental exam, things often go much smoother. You won’t need to take a trip to the nearest toy store to reward the kids for good dental exams. A trip to the park or even ice cream is an awesomely wonderful treat.