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.

The Health Benefits of Dental Implants

When choosing dental restorations there are a number of factors to consider, including what is involved in the treatment, the long-term results, and cost. Most importantly, individuals must consider what the long-term health implications are of their desired treatment. In addition to the aesthetic benefits offered by dental implants, this restorative dental treatment also offers a number of health advantages when compared to traditional restorations.

Why are there so many health benefits associated with dental implants?

Part of the reason why dental implants remain successful and functional well into the future is due to the components that make up dental implants as well as how they are integrated into the dentition. The basic structure of a dental implant consists of an implant post, a connective abutment, and the final restoration, which can range from a single crown to total arch replacement with an implant-supported denture.

As the implant post is designed to mimic the natural tooth root, this biocompatible component stimulates the jaw bone exactly as the original tooth root does. During the recovery period following implant placement, the bone and implant fuse together, effectively ensuring that the implant becomes an integrated part of the jaw. Known as osseointegration, this naturally occurring process is critical to the long-term success of the restorative treatment.

Successful osseointegration also plays an important role in creating the long-term advantages associated with dental implants. For starters, the stimulation provided by the integration of the implant into the bone helps to encourage healthy bone regeneration. In the long run, this helps preserve the facial structure in addition to preventing additional tooth loss.

Dental implant integration also helps to preserve the alignment of the dentition. Often, the teeth next to an empty gap tend to shift into the space left by missing or extracted teeth. This can have a domino effect of the rest of the smile, compromising overall functionality. Since dental implants are firmly anchored into the dentition, this restorative treatment also helps prevent this shift, protecting the alignment of the smile and jaw.

Dental Implants in Northern Virginia

If you are weighing your restorative treatment options, contact Dr. Snehal Patel of Lorton-Springfield Dental Implants and Oral Surgery. Our specialty dental practice is proud to offer a number of dental implant and implant-supported treatment options designed to improve the look, function, and health of your smile.