Starting college and the independence they experience by being away from home can drastically alter your young adult’s normal routine. Brushing and flossing may get pushed to the wayside while students focus on academics and extracurricular activities. Visiting your Fort Lauderdale dentist prior to starting their semester can keep them on the road to academic success and good oral health.
1. SAVE TIME
Scheduling your college student's dental visit over a break (summer, Christmas, or spring break) will minimize the amount of time taken away from studies. Your regular dental check-up and cleaning is usually between 60 to 90 minutes. Skipping dental visits can result in more lengthy visits as plaque has had more time to build up. Your college student can be proactive with their dental health by seeing your Fort Lauderdale family dentist before heading back to campus. Ensure your co-ed returns to campus in good oral health with a regular check-up and dental cleaning and avoid painful dental emergencies by completing dental treatment early.
2. SAVE MONEY
You've heard the adage, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pount of cure." This is true in dentistry as well. During your regular preventative visits, your dental check-up and cleaning, your dentist is able to spot areas of decay and treat them before they turn into larger issues. For instance, a small area of decay can be treated with a filling when detected early; however, skipping your dental visit allows the decay to continue to spread and possibly results in the need for a larger filling, a root canal or even loss of the tooth! Learning to prioritize their oral health through regular dental check-ups is an important investment students should be making in themselves.
3. AVOID DENTAL EMERGENCIES
As your dentist, Dr. Gerard Wasselle's and Dr. Nancy Rotroff's goal is to maintain your student's oral health. During your college student's back to campus dental exam, if any cavities are detected, they can be treated before returning to campus by a dentist with whom your student is familiar and comfortable. Waiting to treat cavities only allows them to continue to spread, possibly resulting a more extensive and expensive procedure or in a painful toothache. If your young adult has not yet had their wisdom teeth removed, your dentist will monitor them and advise if and when they will need to be removed. Having your college student's wisdom teeth removed prior to returning to campus can save from a dental emergency should they begin to cause your child pain or become infected.
4. ORAL HEALTH IS LINKED TO OVERALL HEALTH
Let's face it, college is a huge life change. Leaving home and moving to campus, students have so much to learn. You may not realize it, but your mouth is a reflection of your body’s overall health. Stress and lack of sleep, alcohol use, and diet changes can all take their toll on your student's oral as well as overall health. Stress and lack of sleep have been shown to weaken our immune systems and elevated cortisol from stress increases inflammation in the body increasing the risk for gingivitis and gums disease. Increased caffeine intake from coffee, soda, or energy drinks created a highly acidic environment in the mouth and greater sugar intake feeds the bacteria that produce plaque. Visiting your dentist regularly during your student's college years, when proper dental hygiene is often chronically neglected, is crucial.
Set your college bound student up for success by scheduling their back to school dentist visit with Excellence in Dentistry in Fort Lauderdale. Dr. Nancy Rotroff and Dr. Gerard Wasselle are here for all of your family's dental needs. Start the academic year with a sparkling, cavity-free smile! Call us at 954-928-1666. New patients are always welcome.
