The teenage years are such a vulnerable time in a person’s life. Teenagers are struggling with the demands of responsibility, but also struggling with not having complete control over their lives. They are also working through their self-identity. Teens tend to care so much about how they are perceived by those around them. We as parents need to help them navigate through this difficult time.
We find that personal oral hygiene can be a struggle for many teens. They are busy and feel rather invincible, so the need to brush and floss is not high on their priority list! Parents may want to focus on the immediacy of bad breath and yellow teeth rather than the long term issues of possible decay or gum disease to motivate this age. They do tend to care more about their hair and clothing and their friends’ opinions than long-term health, unfortunately, so changing the focus to how they will come across to others might be a parent’s best shot at having their teen listen to them.
This is also a time at which teens become self-conscious of their smiles or lack of tooth alignment. This is a good time to have an orthodontic evaluation if your child has not already had one. If your child is already in braces, then good oral hygiene is even more important. It is so easy to end up with cavities or stains due to lack of proper brushing. It is so sad to finally get those braces off only to find multiple white or brown stains that can remain on teeth permanently unless treated with a tooth-colored filling.
We hope this gives you tools to work with as you are guiding your teen to self-sufficiency and self-confidence.
