Safeguarding Smiles During The School Year

Posted August 20, 2026

The school year is here! Kids will have a much busier schedule, but we don’t want them to forget about their smiles. We have a few tips to help kids of all ages enjoy good oral health and bright smiles. In today’s blog, your team at Pediatric Dental Care at Casa Linda in Dallas, TX, can help safeguards children’s smiles throughout the school year!

Brushing and Flossing

Taking time to brush their teeth each and every day is essential for keeping little smiles healthy and free of cavities. Kids should brush first thing when they wake up, and do so again before they go to bed. Each time should take two minutes, and you can time them with a song, video, or even a sandtimer. We recommend a toothbrush with soft bristles to avoid damaging enamel or irritating the gums. Children can use an electric or manual option, both are effective if used properly each day. The toothpaste matters too! Children should use one with fluoride to help keep outer enamel strong and lower the risk of cavities. Kids under the age of three only need a rice-sized blot of it, and kids over the age of three need a pea-sized amount.

Kids also need to floss, and that should begin once there are teeth sitting side-by-side in the smile. Initially, they may use a floss pick as this is easier to handle, but they can graduate to floss tape or strong at a later date. Children need to clean up and down each side of every tooth, and dip under the gums each time as well. These actions help remove what a toothbrush cannot reach, limiting the risk of decay between the teeth and also fighting gingivitis for older teens.

Better Afterschool Snacks

What your children eat has a huge impact on their smiles too! With too many items high in sugar and starch, your little ones could be providing harmful oral bacteria with a meal, a process that creates plaque and tartar buildup. The buildup then increases the risk of bad breath and teeth stains, and also weakens outer enamel to make the sonnet of tooth decay more likely. Encourage them to drink more water, which hydrates and helps rinse away particles of sugar and starch. They should cut back on sodas, energy drinks, sports drinks, and even fruit juices, as these all have a high amount of sugar in them. Offer them snacks low in sugar, such as whole grain bread and crackers, and fresh fruits and veggies (you can offer hummus and cottage cheese to dip them in).

Make Time for a Checkup and Cleaning

Now is also a good time to schedule a checkup and cleaning if your child has not had one in the past six months. With an exam, we will conduct a diagnosis with precision and accuracy, so we can look closely at the teeth and gums for signs of trouble. We want to watch for tooth decay, look for gingivitis in older teens, and also make sure baby teeth erupt and fall out on schedule, so permanent teeth can arrive without the complications that could cause misalignment. These visits also help kids better understand their oral health and the importance of caring for their teeth and gums each day. They may be less likely to have dental anxiety, and more likely to continue care on their own as adults!

In the same visit, we will also offer a cleaning, in which we use an ultrasonic scaling device and a manual pick to gently and thoroughly remove all plaque and tartar from the teeth, a process that fights cavities and gingivitis, and also bad breath and teeth stains. We then polish the teeth to make it harder for plaque and tartar to cling to their surfaces, and to offer brighter smiles too.

Procedures to Prevent Cavities

To help prevent cavities, when we see your child for a checkup and cleaning, we could apply fluoride to the teeth to strengthen the outer enamel and make cavities less likely. To protect the rear teeth, the molars kids have trouble reaching when they brush and floss, we could apply a thin acrylic layer to them. This dental sealant then coats the teeth and protects them from cavities of months or even years to come!

PDC Kids Protects Smiles During the School Year

We can repair teeth and protect kids from major oral health complications with emergency dental care. To find out more about children’s dentistry, then call Pediatric Dental Care at Casa Linda in Dallas, TX, today at (214) 321-4880.