School is over and summer schedules are filling up with tons of fun family activities. With all the excitement summer brings, it is harder to track healthy eating habits, and oral hygiene becomes a challenge. During the summer, kids and adults engage in more physical activities. Statistic shows that dental emergencies are more common in summer time. Accept the challenge and prepare yourself for the summer with easy to follow tips. Prevent long term damage on your dental health and your kids’ developing teeth.
Keep the basic oral hygiene going
Be prepared to continually remind your kids to brush their teeth twice a day and to floss daily. Summer is a good time to replace all old worn down, and germy toothbrushes! And it will be a good idea to stick up on extra toothbrushes, dental floss, and travel-sized toothbrushes for summer vacation. There are also disposable dental brushes that you can carry with you or store in your cars.
Get Your Dental Checkup out of the Way
A toothache can catch you by surprise in the middle of summer vacation away from home. Avoid toothaches and other mishaps by booking a checkup right after school is over. Most people wait till August just before school gets started but why spoil the fun?
Healthy Snacks
It’s hard to keep kids from snacking all day when they are home all the time this summer. It is even harder to stop yourself from indulging in another flavorful gelato when you are on well-deserved vacation. Prevent acidic snacks and sugary snacks that can cause cavity or another major oral hygiene mishap. Make sure to invest in fresh fruit and always keep it reachable, already washed and ready to eat. You will feel super proud when you see your kids eating apples, strawberries, or blueberries instead of cookies and hard candy. Another thing you can do is to replace sugary drinks with water bottles.
Prepare for Dental Emergencies
Dental emergencies rise during summer with all the fun activities. Swimming pools, running, bike riding, baseball, and other recreational activities are fun, but can be dangerous. Summer can still be fun, and you can avoid trouble and prepare as much as you can by following these easy tips.
- Be sure to pay close attention to your kids while at the pool and follow the “pool rules.” Researches have come down to the conclusion that a lot of dental injuries happen around the pool. Running around on slippery poolside and bumping your mouth at the edge of the pool can chip and knock out a tooth.
- Know what to do in case of an emergency. Making sure you get to a dentist right away is essential. There are things you can do to help. Make sure to clean the mouth as much as possible using warm water and cold packs. Stop any bleeding with a gauze. Put the permanent loose tooth back into the mouth if possible. You can also put in in salt water or milk to keep it moist during the ride to the dentist.
- While on vacation pack an emergency kit for dental care. In the kit, you may want to include a handkerchief, gauze, a small container with a lid, ibuprofen and don’t forget your dentist’s contact information.
It is essential to be cautious during summer vacation and to remember these helpful tips, but be sure to visit your dentist regularly for more information.
Schedule your next dental appointment with the caring and professional staff at the dental office of Dr. Natalya Carmichael.
Dr. Natalya Carmichael
General, Cosmetic and Implant Dentist | San Diego, CA, Rancho Penasquitos, CA
(858) 484-2560, 9728 Carmel Mountain Rd. Suite B, San Diego, CA 92129
