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The barbecue’s fired up. T-shirts and shorts are back in style. Sandy beaches and sidewalks are sizzling. Summer’s officially here, and it’s time to get back into hot weather mode. This means getting back into some healthy summer habits.

Be Ready to Hydrate!

Warm weather can lead to dehydration before you know it. And water does more than hydrate—it rinses away food particles after eating or snacking, neutralizes enamel-eroding acids in the mouth, and helps us keep up healthy levels of saliva. 

• A reusable water bottle is a summer shopping list must. When you’re out walking, hiking, exercising, or camping, you can’t always be sure you’ll have fresh water available. Fill your water bottle before you leave home—you’ll help yourself stay hydrated, save money, and protect the environment, too!
• Go light on the sports drinks and sodas when planning your summer menus. They’re often filled with sugars and acids—two very unhealthy ingredients for your teeth. 

Restock Your Sunscreen

Sunscreen helps protect skin of all shades and all ages. Exposure to ultraviolet rays is known to cause skin cancer and premature aging. Lip tissue is thin and delicate, especially at risk from the sun’s damaging UV rays. 

• Check your sunscreen for its expiration date. Protective sunscreens and lip balms lose effectiveness once that date has passed.
• Some sunscreens are designed for use on lips. If yours isn’t, look for a protective lip balm. All of your sunscreens and balms should have an SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 30 or higher.
• Bring your sunscreen and balm with you when you’re out and about, and reapply every two hours, or sooner if you’re eating, drinking, or getting wet.

Prep for Summer Adventures

If you’re travelling this summer, make sure the right dental supplies are part of your gear. A travel size toothbrush and toothpaste, a well-ventilated toothbrush case, dental floss, and your dentist’s emergency contact information are basic necessities. Once you have the basics, you can tailor your kit to your summer plans:

• Flying? Make sure every liquid, gel, or aerosol you’ll need is the proper size for carry-on flight rules, 3.4 oz (100 ml) or less. Toothpaste and mouthwash are included in these categories, so look for travel sizes in your favorites. 
• Going overseas? Don’t forget plug adaptors or voltage converters if needed for your electric toothbrush.
• Camping? An emergency kit with cotton rolls, over-the counter pain relief, oral pain relief gel, dental wax (for damaged braces or a broken tooth), and even temporary fillings and a tooth preservation kit can be crucial in case of unexpected dental injuries.

Make Sure Dental Care Is on Your Summer Calendar

Laid-back summer days are the best, but laid-back dental care really isn’t! Follow your healthy dental routine even during the lazy days of summer.

• Keep up with your brushing and flossing—brush two minutes twice each day with a fluoride toothpaste, and floss at least once a day.
• If you’re planning a trip, don’t ignore warning signs. If you have tooth pain or sensitivity, see your dentist to treat any problems before you’re cruising at 30,000 feet or enjoying a remote campout miles from anywhere.
• Make sure you keep up with your scheduled exams and cleanings. That’s the best way to ensure year-round dental health!

Whether you’re basking in the warm outdoor weather, relaxing in the shade with a cool drink and a good book, on the road to adventure, or wherever your summer plans take you, we hope these easy tips will help you create a summer filled with bright, healthy smiles.

Sometimes the reason for a poor night’s sleep is obvious. Maybe your child watched a scary movie. Or loaded up on sugar before bed. Or can’t get to sleep after a night of computer screens or video games. Not much we can do about these problems.

Sometimes, though, the cause of your child’s sleep difficulties is dental in origin, and that is something Dr. Varble, Dr. Dill, Dr. Wong, and Dr. Parks can help with.

Teeth grinding, or bruxism, is a very common childhood dental problem. While children with this condition sleep, their jaws clench and their teeth grind against each other throughout the night. When to suspect children might suffer from bruxism? When they experience:

• Frequent headaches or facial pain
• Waking with a sore jaw, or popping or clicking jaw sounds through the day
• Teeth which are chipped, cracked, flattened, worn down, or sensitive
• Waking up tired, because grinding affects the quality of sleep
• Siblings who complain about nocturnal grinding noises, which affect the quality of their

Pain and fatigue are unpleasant enough, but there are additional serious consequences for those who suffer from bruxism. Our jaws are extremely powerful, and clenching and grinding can put hundreds of pounds on pressure on teeth and jaws over a few hours of sleep.

These forces can lead to damaged teeth and dental work, and problems with the temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, the complex hinge that allows our jaws to move up and down, back and forth, and side to side.

Clearly, prevention is clearly a much better option for a healthy smile. And one of the simplest and most effective treatments for preventing the damage caused by bruxism is a night guard.

Night guards fit over the affected teeth to prevent them from touching directly, saving tooth and enamel from injury and wear. Not only do night guards prevent contact, they spread the biting forces of the jaw over the surface of the guard to greatly reduce their impact. And because they also stop the jaw muscles from clenching tightly, there’s no excess stress placed on the temporomandibular joint.

For all these reasons, a night guard is pretty much a slam dunk for adults who grind their teeth. But for children, it’s not necessarily an automatic decision. Why?

• If tooth grinding is mild and appears to be limited to baby teeth, children often outgrow the condition. Your dentist can let you know if you need to do more than monitor the situation.
• Sometimes it seems like your child’s smile changes from day to day. Between losing baby teeth and erupting adult teeth, this beautiful smile is a work in progress. A fitted night guard might not be a perfect fit while your child’s teeth are still coming in and shifting position.
• Finally, jaw and facial pain can also be caused by problems with your child’s bite or misaligned teeth, and that might mean that an orthodontic consultation is in order.

But if you suspect your child is suffering the effects of night time grinding and clenching, give our Creve Coeur or St. Charles office a call. A thorough examination will provide you with the best diagnosis and solutions for helping your child retain a healthy smile and regain a healthy night’s sleep.

And if a night guard is recommended, a dental professional is the best person to see for the most effective night guard.

While over-the-counter products are available, a custom night guard is designed to fit your child’s individual teeth and mouth perfectly. Impressions or 3D scans are taken in the office, and a guard is fabricated with the precise shape, strength, and thickness needed to protect young teeth. And, as a bonus, custom night guards offer the most comfortable fit for the most comfortable night’s sleep.

Scary movies, a late night sugar rush, mesmerizing video screens—not much we can do about those! But if your child is suffering lost sleep and painful mornings because of tooth grinding, give us a call. A night guard just might be the key to sweet dreams.

As a parent, you know how important a happy, relaxed atmosphere is when it comes to making your child feel at home. We would like to make our Creve Coeur or St. Charles practice your dental home, where you and your family enjoy the best of dental care in a warm and welcoming environment.

What makes a dental home?

• It’s Welcoming

From your child’s first visit, we strive to make you both feel at ease. Our office is designed to be a happy, entertaining, and relaxing place, and our staff is trained in making little ones feel calm and secure. We want to have a lasting relationship, and we want you and your child to feel welcomed back whenever you return.

• It’s Familiar

We recommend visiting our office for the first time by the time of your child’s first tooth or first birthday. Our early visits are designed to make your child familiar with what a dentist does and how a dentist helps keep children healthy. Regular preventative care will keep those little teeth in great shape, and, if your child has a cavity that needs filling or requires any other dental procedure, we will have a history together and a familiar place to experience an unfamiliar treatment.

• It’s Comfortable

We use state-of-the-art dentistry to make sure your child has the best and most comfortable treatment as a patient, and we also consider the psychological aspect of each visit for your particular child. We are experienced in dealing with children who might feel anxious and working with them to overcome their worries. Part of our job is to make each visit a happy one, so your child is always comfortable visiting us.

• It’s Ongoing

We want to establish a relationship that will last through the years. Continuity of care means that we are able to follow your child’s dental development during those active growing years and the transition from primary to permanent teeth. We provide not only dental health education, treatment, and preventive care, but can track any changes or potential problems before they become major issues. In case of a dental emergency, we will be familiar with your child personally, and with a dental history at hand.

Give Dr. Varble, Dr. Dill, Dr. Wong, and Dr. Parks a call to talk about your child and how we can make the dental experience a positive one from the very beginning. When it comes to establishing a happy and healthy foundation for your child’s dental history, there’s no place like our dental home!

First aid training is a must when you are a parent. You can put on a bandage with your eyes closed. Perhaps even apply butterfly tape to avoid stitches. What about a dental injury? Do you have a checklist in mind on what to do when a tooth is knocked out, broken, or displaced from impact? All of these situations happen often and should be in a parent’s emergency training regiment. Luckily Dr. Varble, Dr. Dill, Dr. Wong, and Dr. Parks and our team are here to be a resource for such an incident!

Children’s most common dental injury is chipping a front tooth. It is so common that it seems like a right of passage. Say, for example, a two year old trips and hits her front teeth on the tile floor. First, check to see if the teeth have been broken to the nerve. You can tell if you see layers and a pinkish center. Then, wiggle each tooth and make sure it is not loose. If the teeth feel firmly in place, that is a good sign. Even if they are a little loose, the teeth will tighten again with time. If she develops a severe temperature or bite sensitivity then you know treatment is needed, which may include a root canal. If there are minor symptoms that diminish with time, continued observation will be fine.

Knocking out a tooth is also common and requires more attention than observation alone. As soon as possible, locate the tooth, touch only the crown (not the root), and rinse any debris gently with milk or water. Place it back into the tooth socket as soon as possible. The American Association of Endodontists states a tooth has a high chance of survival and retention for life if it is re-implanted within five minutes or up to 60 minutes if soaking in milk or saline solution. Our team at Dentistry for Children know many parents are nervous about the thought of doing this alone, but not to worry, our team is here to help!

Here’s another dental emergency example: Your child takes an elbow to the mouth during a basketball game and severely displaces a tooth but does not knock it out. What to do? First, apply light pressure in an attempt to move it back into place. Be extremely careful not to use excessive force. Place a cold pack for swelling and contact our office as soon as possible.

A dental emergency can be frightening. It is often messy and painful. The best initial reaction is to remain calm, and remember that we are here to help! Contact us at our Creve Coeur or St. Charles office if your child encounters a dental emergency.