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Dr Adam Alford, Dentist, Sydney, CBD, Talks Children Going Back to School and Dental Issues

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Children going back to school and dental  issues

Over the past couple of weeks my wife and I have been enjoying the excitement of watching  daughter and son during school holidays. Returning to school is coming though; my kids are growing up so fast, their only at the start of their school adventure in year one and kindergarten.  So as we get the school bag, shoes and uniform ready, I realised that my own son and daughter’s mouth will need to be ready too. Their mouth’s are about to go through some big changes very soon too.

Around this time of year, there is an influx of children who come to see me before the school term begins. As a parent and a dentist, I enjoy talking about the changes that happen with a child’s mouth around this age. It’s not always the changes that involve losing baby teeth and welcoming the new adult teeth, but rather the inevitable change of the child’s diet also the introduction of school sports which involve hard bats and potentially rough contact and unfortunately there may be an accident or two which involves a knock to the mouth.

I frequently see children who have a high sugar diet with multiple holes in their teeth which are costly to repair and cause stress to the child. A lot of the time, this can be avoided.   The best way to manage this is through the lunchbox.  Always remember just a healthy balanced diet.  Be careful with “healthy” items like fruit juices, processed foods like muesli bars, fruit bars and the biscuits with the cheese dips etc. as they are really just hidden sugar items.  We not only have to think about hidden sugars, but also fats and reduced carbohydrates.   Obviously sending your child off to school with a lunch box full of sugary and fatty treats not only will cause their teeth and body harm but also their concentration levels will fall rapidly and their education will suffer. This is not to say that there is no room for a treat but just balance it with a simple sandwich, fruits, cut up carrot and vegie sticks with some dip, salad etc.  Fruit juice is good but in moderation and make sure it is fruit juice not just orange coloured fruit punch.  Plain water is always the best.

What if my child wants to play sport? Should I think about a mouthguard?

Here is a simplified breakdown of how, as a parent and a dentist I determine the necessity of whether a mouthguard is required.

  1. Age of the child
  2. Level of contact of the sport and area of the body that contact is usually made.
  3. Equipment used in the sport, e.g. how hard is the ball, are there rackets, sticks or bats used.

Examples below:

Sport

Possible level of injury and extent of injury that could occur.

Soccer

Low

Basketball

Low to Moderate

Netball

Low to Moderate

Rugby Union / Rugby League

Moderate to High

Hockey

High

Should I get a mouthguard made?

Soccer

Basketball

Netball

Rugby Union/ Rugby League

Hockey

Age of Players

4-6

×

×

×

×

×

6-8

×

×

×

8-10

×

10-12

12 and above.

Should I get a dentist made mouthguard made?

Around the age of 12 years, a child usually has their full adult dentition. I would suggest a professionally made mouthguard around this time. Children under the age of 12 years can usually get away with wearing a mouldable pharmacist mouthguard. Try a couple of different brands as the better they mould around the teeth, the more effective they will be should an injury to the mouth occur. Personally within my practice I just pass on the cost of the mouthguard as I would prefer my patients to wear one than not, they usually come in at around $100-$150 (for the full adult professional double laminated mouthguard).

For our kids mouthsguards are fund only.

The panicked “my child has just fallen over and hit their teeth” phone call.

First of all don’t panic. Generally there is not much you can do but comfort your child. Make sure the skin injuries are looked after and stop the bleeding with gentle pressure on the wound with a hanky or piece of cotton, not a tissue as it breaks up in the wound, the mouth and face bleed a lot this is normal (if bleeding has not subsided after a few minutes please find a dentist or a hospital).

Once the bleeding has stopped, check how much soft tissue damage has occurred. If it is considerable then you may need to find a dentist or a hospital straight away. If it is not more than a bad graze or the teeth are a little loose and tender then no rush, try and clean the area by getting your child to rinse with salty water or just water, you are just trying to remove the dirt. The tooth or teeth may be a little loose but just leave them alone. Use some pain relief early like panadol or nurofen following the recommended doses on the packaging. The skin will heal over time, the teeth may become sensitive for a little while and one or a couple of the teeth may turn grey or darken. If they are baby teeth they will fall out, your child now has a pirate tooth until they are maybe seven.

After the initial shock has subsided then you need to see your dentist within a few days just to check the situation out, especially if there are adult teeth involved.

In the future watch for pimples or bubbles occurring on the gum around the tooth and if it is painful see your dentist.

The hysterical “my child has just knocked a tooth out” phone call.

It is not that common to knock a tooth clean out of the mouth, but your child may knock it out of alignment push it in or up into the gum.
If a baby tooth is knocked out, do not worry. The tooth fairy can now have a tooth mansion to live in and your child will look like a pirate for a while.

If an adult tooth is knocked out;

DO NOT PUT IT IN WATER!!!! DO NOT WASH IT!!!!!

  1. If dirty, put in the mouth and wash it in the saliva, yours if necessary.
  2. Put the tooth back in, line it up properly in the socket it came from, this will hurt but it is the best.  Contact the dentist immediately and start antibiotics and pain relief.
  3. Or put the tooth in milk and take it to the dentist with you straight away.

Remember for children under the age of 14 we try and only charge fund only for dental treatment

Dr Adam Alford is a Sydney City dentist who is the author of this article. Dr Alford has a special interest in family preventative and general dental and welcomes new patients to his practice. If you would like to read more about children’s dental health and Dr Adam Alford please visit www.mlccentredental.com.au or email him directly at adam@mlccentredental.com.au

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