A smile is all it takes to change a person’s day or create a positive impact on Earth. Be it thanking a tired service professional or smiling at a sad child, a happy smile does the trick. But the confidence to smile and embrace the world comes with inner strength and good dental health.
Dental hygiene is a matter taken lightly by children nowadays, but they are at the highest risk of developing various teeth-related disorders. Due to an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, and lack of proper hygiene, modern kids are vulnerable to a number of chronic health issues, ranging from obesity to diabetes to even cancer. And all these disorders go hand-in-hand with poor dental hygiene.
Therefore, understanding and teaching proper dental hygiene is the need of the hour. As the mouth is the gateway to the stomach and lungs, it has a major influence. The mouth controls the entry of germs, helps masticate food well, and also serves as a common passageway for words and air. As a result, it must be kept clean to ensure proper growth in kids. Here’s a quick guide to dental hygiene and its impact on overall development in children.
Dental health plays a number of roles in your kid’s health.
Lack of proper dental hygiene can lead to a number of oral diseases like tooth decay and gum disease. It is ideal to brush and floss twice daily and limit intake of sugary foods and beverages to prevent oral diseases like periodontal disease, cavities, and gingivitis in children.
Poor oral health has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular problems like atherosclerosis (clogged arteries), coronary artery disease (causes heart attacks and failures), and stroke. It is ideal to maintain proper dental hygiene to keep your family’s heart healthy.
Endocarditis is an inflammation of the lining of the valves and chambers of the heart. It is caused by a bacterial infection commonly contracted during tooth extraction and other dental procedures. Though it does not affect healthy hearts much, it can be fatal for those with existing heart troubles. Therefore, it is ideal to keep endocarditis at bay by making sure your entire family engages in healthy dental habits.
Having cavities has been linked with developing pneumonia, an infection of the lung caused by various pathogens like bacteria or viruses. Germs from the mouth may aspirate into the lungs via the upper airways and cause infection and inflammation. Restricting the intake of sugary beverages before naps and bedtime and brushing and flossing after meals is vital for lowering the chance of incurring pneumonia this way.
Diabetes is known to cripple the human body’s immune system, increasing risk of various diseases, including dental infections. Since stress and sugar intake massively influence both diabetes and dental problems like tooth decay and oral ulcers, they can be monitored and controlled in a similar manner. Monitoring sugar intake and helping your kids de-stress daily can-do wonders for both health issues.
Children with proper oral hygiene are better at making friends for a number of reasons. Poor dental hygiene can cause decayed teeth, bad breath, gum disease, and more. This can lower self-esteem and confidence in kids while restricting their social life and isolating them. Having healthy gums and teeth ensures your kids wear their smiles with confidence and do not let anxiety or depression mar their moment.
Dental hygiene has immense influence over your child’s immunity and social life. From preventing diseases to keeping kids healthy to keeping their friendships alive, it plays a role in all. So it is ideal to not delay and start developing proper oral hygiene habits in your kids today, irrespective of age. Their health will thank you in the future.
Sources:
https://www.who.int/health-topics/oral-health
https://dental.dpu.edu.in/blogs/how-poor-oral-hygiene-affects-overall-health-connecting-the-dots