Challenges For Teenage Teeth

Teenage years can be fun but there are lots of challenges for our teeth!

Whilst being a teenager can be fun, it can also be a challenging time of life when we are just discovering who we are.

In today’s world, this is often done in public via social media, adding to the difficulties that teenagers are going to face now and potentially in the future as those social media posts tend to not go away!

It is also a challenging time for their teeth. During our teen years we will have lost most, if not all, of our baby teeth, and the ones that we are left with will have to last us for the rest of our life. Given that fact, we can see why it is so important that we look after them, but arguably this can be quite difficult for a teenager to do.

Diet and lifestyle

As we mature from children into young adults, it is understandable that we seek to have more freedom and make more decisions of our own. The most visible sign of this is likely to be in the way that we dress, and perhaps, the music that we listen to. We will probably also have found ways to circumvent the meals that we only previously ate because we had no choice and we will become increasingly responsible for the food and drinks that we consume.

Although some teenagers are oral health savvy, the fact is that most aren’t, and a diet chosen by a teenager is likely to be high in sugars and possibly acids too. Both of these are likely to lead to enamel damage, often resulting in decay and sometimes root canal infections too.

Teenage rebellion

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink, as the age old saying goes. The same can be said about many teenagers and as exasperated parents worldwide will probably tell you, it doesn’t matter how much you try to guide your teenage child on the ‘right’ path, they will go their own way. This is, of course, part of their journey towards adulthood but there are many potential pitfalls along the way.

From a dental perspective, this is likely to involve not only a less tooth friendly diet and lifestyle, but also potentially skipping looking after their teeth as well. With nobody making sure that they brush their teeth this will probably be missed more often than it should be. Dental visits may also go out of the window, at least until they call us for an emergency dental appointment because they have a severe toothache! Sometimes lessons do have to be learned the hard way, but unfortunately, where teeth are concerned, this can result in tooth loss and other problems.

False information

Although many of us may have been given incorrect information about oral health from our parents and grandparents, it was at least done with the best of intentions. Today’s teenagers have an extra barrier to good information thanks to the internet and social media in particular. We have seen many stories and articles that are frankly quite shocking in the information that they provide. This is especially the case where ‘influencers’ are paid to promote products that are potentially harmful to teeth.

Whilst some of these social media posts may seem innocent enough, a classic case in point being how to whiten teeth using lemon juice, they are in fact very harmful. In this case, although lemon juice is entirely natural, it is also highly acidic and will damage the enamel on your teeth. If you are trying to achieve a certain goal regarding how your teeth look, always ask one of the team at the Confidental Clinic for professional advice.

Seeking perfect teeth

Popular reality shows such as Love Island have certainly raised the profile of teeth and smiles. This may have positive or negative consequences, depending on your point of view. The advanced whiteness of participant’s teeth may cause cash poor teenagers to seek out ways to whiten their teeth themselves, or may even use illegal outlets which is incredibly dangerous. On the other hand, it may lead to them putting more focus on having healthy teeth and improving how they look after them.

If you are a teenager or have teenage children yourself, it may be a difficult few years ahead, but, by having regular supervision from one of our local Greenwich dentists, you have a much better chance of arriving at adulthood with a healthy set of teeth. This is not only obviously beneficial for you, but is also likely to save you from needing extensive, and potentially fairly expensive, dental treatment later on in life.

If you would like to make an appointment at the Confidental Clinic, please call us on 020 8858 1422.