Maintaining Good Oral Hygiene at School

Back to school season is here! Here at Piedmont Pediatric Dentistry, we would like to remind the parents of our patients to make healthy decisions when packing your child’s school lunch. Packing too much sugar can harm your child’s dental and overall health. We don’t recommend packing snacks like cookies, chewy fruit snacks, or candy. Sugar may provide a temporary jolt for your child, but the crash afterwards will leave your child feeling lethargic and irritable. 

Healthy Dental Care at School 

In addition to packing healthy lunches for your child, there are also a few ways to help him or her maintain good oral hygiene at school. These include the following: 

• Following breakfast, make sure your children brush their teeth for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste. Brushing right after meals will help eliminate halitosis and clean the teeth of plaque and debris. 
• If your child’s school is ok with chewing gum, you can pack some sugar-free gum in your child’s lunchbox to chew after lunch. Chewing gum can stimulate saliva and help dislodge food particles from between the teeth. 
• Fill your child’s lunchbox with healthy food. Lunch should include lean meats, whole grain breads, fruits, baby carrots, low-fat yogurt or cheese, whole-grain crackers, and baked chips. Besides being full of nutrients, fruits and veggies like apples or celery can even help clean the teeth as they’re being chewed. Try to avoid packing too much sugar in your child’s lunchbox. 
• Lastly, if your child has braces, he or she should be rinsing well with water after eating lunch. If your child has a removable orthodontic retainer, make sure the retainer is rinsed before being put back in their mouth. 

Dental problems during the schoolyear can result in absences. To schedule a back-to-school dental checkup for your child, please contact Piedmont Pediatric Dentistry today. Our pediatric dental office is located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Also serving Summerfield and Oak Ridge Pediatric Dentist needs.