Oral Health: Don't Ignore Your GumsOral Health: Don't Ignore Your Gums


About Me

Oral Health: Don't Ignore Your Gums

When you go to your dentist, you are likely concerned about cavities and the stains on your teeth. If you are like me, then you probably never thought much about your gums. Unfortunately, this caused me to form a serious gum recession condition. My dentist said that hard brushing practices, poor flossing techniques, and even the consumption of sugary foods led to the recession. After some deep scaling treatments, I was informed that I needed a gum graft procedure. The gums are extremely important to your health. They provide your teeth with the nutrients they need and they protect the sensitive dental roots. The gums even keep bacteria away from your jaw bone. Don't ignore your gums like I did. Read my blog and learn about proper oral care techniques. Prevention practices can easily save your gums from necessary restoration.

3 Appointments Every Preschooler Needs

Preparing for preschool is an exciting time--a time when your child can play and have fun. But you want to make sure your child is healthy before their first big day. If they are having trouble talking, seeing or hearing, they may not enjoy and utilize this time as they could, and it could cause a variety of delays. There are three appointments you want to schedule before your child puts on their backpack and heads to school.

Pediatric Dental Checkup

A dental appointment for your preschooler doesn't just include a cleaning and x-rays, the dentist can check for early oral complications or orthodontic problems. If the child has disfigured pallet or if the teeth aren't in proper alignment, this could affect how your child speaks and annunciates words. If the child has cavities that go without care, the bacteria could affect the adult teeth that are developing below also.

Reach out to a local dental clinic, like Village Family Dental, for more details on how to schedule a checkup.

Hearing Screening

You may not notice that your child can't hear properly, since many preschoolers don't talk perfectly or have great pronunciation. You want to have your child's hearing tested to make sure that they can hear themselves properly, and that they can hear teachers and parents. A child that can't hear may not listen, may have a hard time paying attention, may speak loudly, and could speak improperly.

Vision Test

As many as 10 percent of preschool aged children have some type of problem with their vision, and you don't want this to go undetected if your child is among this group. The vision problem may stop them from enjoying story time or watching television, from creating patterns or recognizing shapes and colors, and it can delay fine motor skills. Your child may lack coordination and have other problems if they can't see clearly, and you want to make sure they can do their best at preschool.

It's important that when you schedule these three appointments you consult professionals. You want to see a pediatric dentist for a cleaning and checkup, a hearing testing center for the aural test, and an optometrist or ophthalmologist to have the vision examined. The regular pediatrician can do an overview of these areas, but they aren't experts and can misdiagnose or miss the problems. Let your child go into preschool ready and eager to learn and make new friends, by making sure they are healthy for their first day.