Seven reasons why a dental check up is vital for your kids:

Regular check-ups help to keep your kids’ teeth and gums healthy – and they’re also vital to ensure your own oral health is as good as it could be. Here are seven reasons to organise that appointment for your kids, and seven more reasons why you should check up on your own oral health at the same time.

For your kids

1. It gets your kids used to regular dental visits and it helps them understand how important it is to protect their teeth for life – bring your child in at age one or two years to start them on a lifetime of healthy smiles.

2. Your dentist can advise you about the meals, drinks and snacks to boost tiny teeth and those that may damage them.

3. The enamel on baby teeth is much thinner than permanent teeth and so they’re much more prone to damage – your dentist can advise you about how effectively you’re cleaning your tot’s teeth.

4. Children’s first teeth keep the position for permanent teeth to come, so it’s important that they are as healthy as they can – otherwise the result can be tooth crowding. 

5. Around 300 types of bacteria make up dental plaque, which is difficult to remove at home – but your dentist can remove it effectively and quickly.

6. Tooth decay is still the most common chronic disease around and one in two children age 12 has tooth decay in their permanent teeth¹. 

7. Does your child play sport? A mouthguard protects in so many ways – a dentist made mouthguard is recommended by the Australian Dental Association because it cushions teeth against impact, protects against jaw and soft tissue injuries, helps prevent neck and jaw injuries and may help to reduce concussion.

For you

1. You may find it difficult to find the time to look after your own oral health, so fixing up a time when you’re bringing in the kids for your own dental appointment will save you time.

2. It’s important for your kids to see that you make dental health a priority.

3. A massive 90 per cent of body conditions have their origins in oral health – so your oral health could give signals about your body health and vice versa.

4. Getting any treatment you might need earlier means faster, less costly treatment as far as dollars and time are concerned.

5. It helps you to keep your teeth for longer – three in ten adults has untreated tooth decay and one in seven has had toothache in the last year2 according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

6. Regular cleans help to give you a brighter and lighter smile as a deep professional clean removes stains that come with coffee, tea, wine and more. 

7. You could boost your fresh breath confidence – halitosis (bad bread) can be caused by tiny bits of food trapped in your teeth and mouth. Plaque bacteria feed on this and the foul smelling gas that’s released is the result.  A thorough clean – and treatment of the gums if you need it – can help to banish bad breath and keep your gums healthy.

About the Expert

This article was written by the health and wellbeing team at rt health fund, Australia's first registered health fund. A not-for-profit health fund, rt is dedicated to meeting the health cover needs of people working in the transport and energy industries and their families just as it has done for 127 years.

^{1 http://www.aihw.gov.au/dental-and-oral-health/
2 http://www.aihw.gov.au/dental-and-oral-health/}