SUMMER CHECKLIST-Stay on track!

Happy “Tooth-Day”!

Farah Flossit here, wishing you well after a long weekend of fun!

It may seem as if Summer just started, but I’d thought it would be a good idea to keep you on track & think about what you should take care of while the kids are out of school. First I’d like to provide a dental timeline for those first-time moms & dads or for those parents that now have big kiddos & have recently added a newbie to the equation. This will help remind you about what you should be doing at each stage to help promote good oral care from the start. Good oral hygiene is important for so many reasons, but today I would really like to drive home the correlation between poor oral health & poor academic performance. The summer is a great time to address any pending cavities or dental concerns so that your child/children do not have to miss school to take care of these issues. If your child is up to date with their routine cleanings & check ups, then this is one less worry you will have; children with cavities & unattended dental concerns can easily get distracted by pain & discomfort. If your kiddos are up to date with their dental care, it’s an especially good idea to consider your child’s molars being “sealed” as a preventative measure to avoid future cavities.

I came across a study done by the USC https://dentistry.usc.edu/2012/08/10/poor-oral-health-can-mean-missed-school-lower-grades/ that explains how poor oral health, dental disease, & tooth pain can place kids at a serious disadvantage in school. This study that was conducted in 2012 consisted of about 1500 disadvantaged elementary & high school children in the LA Unified School District showed that:

Children who reported having tooth pain were 4X more likely to have a low GPA compared to those without oral pain.
Poor oral health is linked to more school absences and missed work for parents.
11% of children with limited access to dental care missed school due to poor oral health, as opposed to 4% of children with access to dental care.

My job as a Mouth Monster fighting agent is to help moms & dads do their job of taking their children to the Dentist & to teach them good oral habits from a very early age. It’s a lot scarier to visit the dentist because of neglect than introducing routine visits to the Dentist from an early age. If you come in & visit us here at Casa Smiles Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics http://www.casasmiles.com/ your kids will look forward to coming back to our Fun Dental Office.

Summertime is great for vacations, but also a good time to stay on track! Give your kids the gift of a healthy smile:) It’s time to beat those cavities to the punch. Let’s fight off those Mouth Monsters together & stay Mouth Monster Free!!

Thank you for tuning in on today’s Happy “Tooth-Day’s” report!

I look forward to chatting with you all next week!

In the meantime, you can follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casasmilespediatricdentistryandorthodontics?pnref=lhc. Instagram http://instagram.com/casasmiles/, Twitter https://twitter.com/casa_smiles, Yelp http://www.yelp.com/biz/casa-smiles-pediatric-dentistry-and-orthodontics-coral-gables & Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/casasmiles/ to hear all about our daily news! You can always call or email us with any questions, concerns, to make an appointment, or for a complimentary Ortho Consultation http://www.casasmiles.com/contact-us/.

Your Friend,

Farah Flossit (Special Agent Flossit)