The Long-term Impact of Childhood Oral Health

Often, the habits we learn as children stay with us as we enter adulthood. This is particularly true when considering oral health and hygiene, as the health of your smile during childhood frequently dictates the condition of your dentition as an adult. Your feelings towards dental visits, preventive care, and at-home oral hygiene are initially developed based on your experiences with dentistry as a child. As a result, ensuring positive dental experiences and thorough oral care during childhood are incredibly important.

Dental Conditions that Can Influence Your Future Oral Health
Often, conditions such as caries can greatly impact a child’s smile. As the nerves are larger in children’s teeth than they are in adult teeth, childhood tooth decay spreads much more aggressively, putting children at risk of requiring extensive treatments such as root canals and crowns in order to prevent further damage. In the long-run, such conditions compromise the patient’s oral health, creating an oral environment that may not encourage healthy dentition.

Thumb sucking can also cause long-term implications for the smile. Often, children outgrow thumb sucking between the ages of two and a half to three years of age. However, if the habit continues, it can have an impact different parts of the dentition, including the bite alignment, gums, jaws, and even the structure of the face. In the future, chronic thumb suckers may need orthodontics or even jaw surgery to correct the function and health of the mouth.

The Importance of Routine Visits
Regular visits to the dentist’s office are one of the most important aspects of preventive care regardless of age. During childhood, these visits are especially important as they provide patients and their parents with the opportunity to learn about important hygiene skills to be implemented at home. Furthermore, routine dental visits offer an important opportunity for dentists to monitor young smiles for changes in the dentition.

During these visits, your child’s smile will be monitored using advanced technology to ensure proper oral development and transition from primary to permanent teeth. These frequent visits also help the dentist identify whether certain long-term treatments will be needed in the future, such as orthodontics or wisdom teeth extraction.

In Lorton and Springfield, Northern Virginia oral surgeon Dr. Snehal Patel works closely with area dentists to help strategically plan extensive oral surgery procedures for patients in need. For more information about our referral program, contact your closest location today.