Preventing Sports Injuries with Preventive Dental Care for Kids in Santa Cruz

When it comes to preventive dental care for kids in Santa Cruz, we do it all.  Our focus is on keeping your children healthy now and as they get older.  Beginning from a very young age, we work to teach children healthy habits, show them how to care for their teeth and clean their teeth on a regular basis.  However, there are things that happen outside of our dentist office that we worry about – sports injuries is one of them.  It is incredibly common to damage a tooth while playing sports, even in kids.  We can work to prevent these injuries.

Step #1 – Keep their teeth strong.

If you want to prevent an injury, start by strengthening their teeth.  We can do so using a fluoride treatment in our office.  Fluoride is a mineral that when placed directly onto the teeth can help to strengthen them in order to reduce cavities.  Studies find that fluoride reduces decay by 30 percent.  However, strong teeth are also helpful when it comes to avoiding dental damage.

Step #2 – Keep their teeth healthy.

As a provider of preventive dental care for kids, we want to be sure that your child has healthy teeth. This is done by cleaning them twice a year in order to remove plaque and tartar that has built up over time.  Simultaneously, we encourage you to feed your children a mouth-healthy diet of nuts, dairy products, lean protein, and vegetables.  Avoiding things like soda and candy are also important to oral health.

Step #3 – Treat problems as they arise.

If your child has tooth decay or an infection, bring them to a dentist right away.  We will remove the decayed portion of the tooth and the infection, prior to restoring the tooth.  The sooner we can remove the decay, the sooner we can return your child's teeth to good health.  As a parent, you need to know that when your child has even a small portion of decay, their tooth is at a greater risk for permanent damage. Preventing sports injuries start with restoring their teeth to good health.

Step #4 – Give them a mouthguard.

Your child will benefit from wearing a mouthguard while practicing and playing sports.  A mouthguard will serve as a protective barrier between your child's teeth and a fly ball, elbow, or hockey stick.  In sports, everything is flying around and doing so at a fast pace.  It is hard for children, or even adults, to avoid common sports accidents because of it.  Since you cannot control what will come your child's way, what you can do is give them a mouthguard to wear so that when it does, that ball cannot come in direct contact with their teeth.  Mouth guards prevent hundreds of thousands of sports injuries every year, so this is certainly a wise solution.

You can count on us to provide preventive dental care for kids in Santa Cruz that addresses all of your child's oral health care needs.  To learn about how we can protect their teeth, call and schedule an appointment.