Tips to Keep Your Child’s Smile in Tiptop Shape Once They’re Back to School

By: Doctors Christopher Hydo, Natalie Miller, William Rawlings, and Crystal Angelopoulos

You spend a lot of time, energy and money so that your child can flash the greatest smile possible. Want to help your child take good care of your investment into their great smile even while they’re back to school? Here’s how!

Put a helmet in their mouth: With fall comes new seasons of school sports, which could mean trouble for an unprotected mouth. Mouth guards are a MUST for protecting your child’s teeth and braces during every tackle and spike. Just think of it as another essential piece of sports equipment, like a baseball mitt or soccer shin guards. A mouth guard is like a helmet for their mouth.

Give them Jell-O and chocolate milk: Healthy food choices for lunch will not only fuel your child’s mind better, but it will also help maintain those pearly whites. Avoid high sugar food (raisins and soda) & simple carbohydrates (chips) that are easy fuel for the bacteria in your mouth to start breaking down your teeth and gums. You can help them avoid the temptation of these food as well as the hard and sticky food their friends might share that cause can easily break their braces and retainers with Jell-O. Jell-O makes low sugar, low calorie flavors that are tasty and healthier options. Pack this type of Jell-O to help curb cravings and avoid caving in for sweets.

And for after their games, low-fat chocolate milk makes a great post sport snack with a balance of protein and carbohydrates that help refuel the body. Even though it might taste just as good, low-fat/non-fat chocolate milk it is better for their teeth than traditional sugary sports drinks.

Act as if every day is School Photo Day: Parents see it every year. It’s picture day at school and all of a sudden their kids are doing more than usual to clean their teeth. Treat every day like School Photo Day by bringing floss in the car so that they can floss while driving to school. Once they’re at school, encourage them not to let their lunch linger in between their teeth and in their braces by packing a travel toothbrush to remove all of the food after they have eaten. We all love a good PB&J, but the sandwiches don’t photograph well inside braces.

Of course, the golden rules of brushing 2-3 times daily and attending regular check-up visits with your general dentist still apply. As with many things, it’s the little things that add up to make a big difference. Follow these easy steps to ensure your child has the best smile possible.