Dental Concerns You Might Not Think About for Your Child

Posted October 14, 2020

When many parents consider safeguarding their child’s smile, they think of good dental hygiene lessons and preventing things like tooth decay from forming. Many parents have even learned to recognize the signs of common concerns, such as sensitivity in their children’s teeth. However, there are other, less common conditions that may pose a threat to your child’s immediate and long-term oral health, and recognizing them as threats isn’t always as easy. Fortunately, we can help safeguard your child’s smile by keeping a close eye on their oral health through regularly scheduled preventive checkups and cleanings.

Their tendency to grind their teeth

Many adults don’t notice when they grind their teeth too often, which can sometimes be a sign of an underlying bruxism problem. They may be more likely to notice if their kids grind their teeth consistently, though the child may not notice it themselves. Bruxism, or chronic teeth-grinding, can be a symptom of other bite dysfunctions, and it could lead to extensive damage to your child’s teeth if it isn’t addressed promptly. In many cases, we can help children stop grinding their teeth with a comfortable, custom-designed oral appliance.

Slight impediments in their speech

There are many different things that can contribute to a speech impediment, and the impediment itself can vary greatly among children who have one. Speech therapy may often be the answer to correcting it, but in some rarer cases, the problem could lie with a discrepancy in the size, shape, position, or alignment of your child’s teeth and/or oral tissues. A comprehensive oral health exam should be performed along with speech therapy to help improve the child’s speech and enunciation.

The trouble they have sleeping soundly

Problems with the growth and development of your child’s teeth, oral structures, and certain oral tissues can lead to a wide range of potential concerns. For example, your kid’s teeth might start to grow crooked, and increasingly more so until the problem is corrected with orthodontic treatment. Another, less frequent concern may be the development of obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA. This involves chronic, loud snoring, followed by the cessation of your child’s breathing for a moment while they sleep. The noise is caused by your child’s airway becoming obstructed by oral tissues, and the silence occurs when the airway is completely obstructed. This pattern can repeat itself multiple times throughout the night, and your child may benefit from a custom sleep appliance to prevent it from occurring.

We can help safeguard your kids’ smiles

Things like tooth decay and crooked teeth are commonly known concerns for children’s oral health. However, there are others that may not seem as obvious at first. To learn more, schedule an appointment by calling Pediatric Dental Care at Casa Linda in Dallas, TX today at 214-321-4880. We proudly serve patients who live around Casa Linda and all surrounding Dallas communities.