Everything you need to know

Dental care for teens

 

So your child is getting into their teenage years, has lost their baby teeth and now it’s time to keep their adult teeth happy and set them up for life.

What’s happening in their mouth at the moment, and what do you need to know? Let’s discuss.

Is your child a little young for this age group?
Read about oral health for younger kids instead.

 
 

In this guide

 

What happens to a child’s mouth in their teenage years?

As children reach their teenage years, a lot of things are happening in their bodies. From changes in hormone levels to bodily changes, sexual maturity, changes to their voice and self image, it’s a lot – and their mouths are changing, too.


Adult teeth

From about six years old onwards, most children lose all of their baby teeth to be replaced by permanent adult teeth. This process can last up to around the age of 13, where the last molars come through at the back of the mouth.

Wisdom teeth come quite a bit later, usually after teens turn 17 years and up until around 25 years old.

This whole time, your child’s baby teeth have been ‘saving space’ for their adult teeth – allowing them to learn to chew and speak while their jaws grow big enough to support the full range of adult teeth. Permanent teeth are bigger and stronger, with deeper roots, than milk teeth, setting your child up to be able to talk and chew properly their whole life, maintain the shape of their face, and keep their confidence in their smile.


Puberty

Puberty is the process of physical and hormonal changes in a teen’s body that affects how they develop, helping them reach adulthood and maturity.

This process is also going to impact their teeth. Keep reading, as we talk more about this below.


Wisdom teeth

Wisdom teeth round out an adult’s total teeth to 32, generally appearing right at the back of the mouth between 17 and 25 years old.

As you may already know, wisdom teeth don’t always come through properly, and can cause problems in the mouth. We’ll talk more about this below, too.


Change in consumption habits

This is perhaps not a physical change related to puberty, but important to note nonetheless. As teenagers grow more and more independent, and especially with their finances and what they can purchase to consume, it’s often the case that they begin to consume more ‘junk’ – sugars, alcohols, smoking, that type of thing.

Sugary, acidic and alcoholic food, as well as smoke, can all have quite negative impacts on the mouth. Not only can they damage teeth, eroding enamel and causing discolouration, they can also increase someone’s risk of gum disease (or worse).

Later in this article, we’ll talk about what food and drink to talk to your teen about. You may not be able to convince them to totally avoid harmful substances, but you can equip them with the knowledge they need to protect their smile even if they do.

Learn more: Gum disease

How does puberty affect teen health?

Puberty often causes quite drastic changes in a child’s body, helping them transition from childhood to maturity. Their mouths can also be impacted by these changes, as the hormones in their bodies affect blood flow and risks of disease.

Here’s a quick rundown on some of the ways puberty impacts teen oral health:

  • Puberty gingivitis: The hormones in a teen’s body can increase the blood flow to their gums, making them more sensitive to plaque (that’s the bad bacteria that forms on teeth and gums). An increase in plaque and its damage is often the precursor to gingivitis, aka gum disease. This sensitivity can also make their mouth more susceptible to irritation, such as by food particles, causing swelling and bleeding.

  • Menstruation gingivitis: Many girls experience gingivitis-like symptoms before they get their periods, causing tenderness, redness, swelling, bleeding and sensitivity. Typically symptoms begin a few days prior to a period and resolve when it begins. That said, some girls experience canker sores and swollen salivary glands during their period as well.

  • Mouth shape/orthodontics: As your teen’s full set of adult teeth come in, you’ll get a clear picture as to whether or not their mouths developed properly. If they didn’t, orthodontics (i.e. braces) may be required to correct their teeth, so it doesn’t cause problems further down the line.

  • Self body image: Any negative impact to a teenager’s mouth could impact their self esteem in these sensitive years. This makes it all the more important to encourage them to maintain good oral health and stay on top of things like orthodontics, so they stay happy with their smiles and not afraid to use them.

Learn more: “Let’s take a look at how puberty affects teen dental health”


What is the best age to get braces?

It’s most common for children between the ages of nine and 14 to be fitted with braces, as this is the point where their adult teeth are coming through but still growing.

The best thing you can do to ensure your teen gets braces at the right time is to start having them examined early – even as early as seven years old. This way a professional can look at the way they are developing and make an assessment on the need, or otherwise, for orthodontics.


Can you be too old to get braces?

No! Even if your teen is already past 14 years old it’s still never too late to look into it. In fact, a lot of adults wear various types of braces to correct their smile – teeth can be moved at any age.

Learn more: “Does your child need braces? Find out.”

What to know about wisdom teeth

Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars that teenagers gain when they approach adulthood. As we mentioned earlier, they come in around 17-25 years of age.

That said, not everybody gets their third molars. In fact, according to one study, only around 54% of adults have wisdom teeth, with more men than women seeing them come through properly.

Unfortunately, wisdom teeth don’t always come through correctly. While there is some debate around why this is the case, for many adults their third molars erupt crooked or impacted (where a tooth fails to fully erupt), and it’s sometimes the case that they will grow on such steep angles that they affect the cheek or neighbouring teeth.

When your teen reaches the age of 17, and regularly each year beyond that point, it’s important that they are examined by a dentist to check for developmental issues in their wisdom teeth. If it looks like their teeth may cause pain or discomfort in future and require extraction, your dentist can advise on what to do next.

Dental care tips for teens

1. Maintain good brushing habits

Good teeth brushing habits are one of the best ways to stave off tooth decay now, and for the rest of your teen’s life.

  • Brush twice a day, with one of those times being just before bed.

  • Always brush for two minutes.

  • Use a pea-sized amount of fluoride-containing toothpaste.

  • Clean teeth in a circular motion, and gums in a side-to-side (vibrating) motion.

  • When cleaning the gumline, hold the toothbrush at a 45° angle.

  • Clean both the front and backs of teeth, as well as the chewing surfaces and around behind the back molars.

  • Try not to brush within 15 minutes of eating or drinking, as it can damage the enamel.


2. Floss regularly

Your teen doesn’t need to floss twice a day like brushing, but flossing at least regularly is a great way to remove hard-to-reach food particles and slow the growth of bacteria in the mouth.

  • Unwind about 30-40cm worth of floss and wrap most of it around either the first or middle finger of each hand, leaving about an inch between.

  • Slide this string between two teeth, down to the gum, and gently brush it up and down each tooth, making a C shape around them.

  • Use a different part of the floss for each tooth gap.


What about toothpicks?

Hard toothpicks can actually be quite bad for your teeth. Most dentists recommend against their use, as the sharp points can cause damage to the gums that increases their risk of further health complications.

If your teen needs to remove food particles after dinner, a rinse with water or brief floss can help.


3. Use antibacterial mouthwash

Like flossing, the use of mouthwash doesn’t have to be a twice-a-day thing - but swirling with antibacterial mouthwash at least regularly can have oral health benefits.

  • Look for mouthwash that is ‘antibacterial’, ‘antiseptic’ or ‘anti-plaque’ so you know it fights bacteria in the mouth.

  • Always follow the instructions on the bottle.

  • Never ingest mouthwash – always spit it out.

  • Don’t use mouthwash right after brushing, as it can wash the fluoride off. See below about why your teen shouldn’t rinse after brushing.


Natural mouthwash alternatives

  • Lemongrass

  • Tea tree oil

  • Baking soda


4. Don’t forget to clean the whole mouth!

Your teen’s mouth is more than just their teeth.

When brushing, it’s important to remember to clean the gums and tongue, too. The side-to-side motion we mentioned above is an effective way to clean food particles out of the gumline, and the tongue only needs a gentle brush.


5. Spit but don’t rinse toothpaste

We recommend using a toothpaste that contains fluoride, and then spitting it out but never rinsing.

Fluoride is a naturally occurring substance found in a great variety of materials on our planet, and many health experts (including the NZ Dental Association and World Health Organisation) believe it contains beneficial oral health properties – helping damaged teeth, fighting bacteria, and so on.

If your teen rinses their mouth after brushing, it will wash all the fluoride off their teeth where it can’t do any good. So, after brushing, spit but try not to rinse (and avoid the use of mouthwash for at least 30 minutes).


6. Does your teen need fissure sealants?

Fissure sealants are a relatively common dental procedure designed to help protect a person’s molars from tooth decay.

Everyone’s molars contain grooves (fissures), but some people’s can be quite deep, extending down into the tooth. If a fissure is so deep that it traps food particles that a brush can’t then get out again, this could feed bacteria and increase the risk of decay.

A fissure sealant is like a plastic coating that goes over these grooves to protect them. You can ask your dentist whether they think your teen requires such a procedure, although if you take them for a regular check-up throughout their life then it’s likely this may be recommended to you before you even ask.


7. Visit a dentist regularly

We know it can be a cost to visit the dentist, but it really is important that you take your teen in for a check-up on a regular basis. This is so that a dental expert can keep a close eye on the development of their mouth and their risk of tooth decay, to prevent any issues before they become even more damaging (not to mention costly to fix).

It’s generally a good idea to visit the dentist at least once a year. However, if you know your teenager smokes regularly, has gotten pregnant, or suffers from a disease such as diabetes, consider bringing them in more regularly – at least twice a year, if not three times.

Dietary tips to keep teen’s teeth healthy

Avoid sugar and acid

This is the broken record of dental advice, we know, but there’s a reason that dentists are always recommending the avoidance of sugary and acidic food – they can seriously damage teeth, especially over the long term.

Bacteria in the mouth love sugar. With consumption of sugary things, it can feed bacteria, increasing the risk it will turn into plaque – which itself may turn into tartar, and lead to gingivitis or greater gum disease and tooth decay.

Acid, on the other hand, can erode away the protective layer on the outside of your teeth (enamel), which may make them more sensitive to decay. On top of that, eroded teeth may appear to discolour – looking more yellow than white, and be more sensitive to hot or cold.


So can my teen ever have sugary or acidic food and drink?

Of course! Everything in moderation, though. It’s always better to snack on healthier alternatives, but everyone is allowed a treat every now and then and they can’t always be avoided (especially sugar, which hides in a lot more food than you’d expect).

If your teen does consume sugary or acidic food, consider encouraging them to drink water after to rinse their mouth and cut down on the amount of either substance sitting on their teeth.


Limit smoking and drinking

We might not want to believe that our children are drinking or smoking, but as they get older the chances are relatively high that they will at least try one or the other. Indeed, one Otago University study found that over a third of teenagers drink heavily, and those figures could go as high as 79%.

If we can’t stop our young people from trying these hazardous substances, we can at least educate them as much as possible so they know how to make healthy choices.

Alcohol and smoking can be extremely damaging to teeth, especially smoking. Indeed, smoking (and vaping) can seriously increase the risk of gum disease and other oral health conditions. Meanwhile, alcohols are usually full of acid and sugar, and the dehydration they cause can also limit production of saliva – our body’s natural defence against mouth bacteria.

Again, if your teen does consume alcohol or smokes, rinsing with water afterwards could help reduce some of the negative impacts on their teeth.


Maintain a healthy calcium intake

Calcium is a fabulous substance for most healthy teens and adults. In the case of our oral health, it can strengthen tooth enamel which helps protect teeth against bacteria and other substances.

That said, everybody is different and therefore generally requires a different amount of minerals like calcium to remain healthy. We would encourage you to talk to a doctor or other health professional about your teen to find out how much they should be consuming each day.

Note: Watch out for hidden sugars in calcium-rich foods. A lot of milk products, for example, are high in calcium (like yoghurt) but also in sugar, meaning they can be as damaging as they are helpful.


Drink lots of water

Drinking lots of water isn’t just important to maintain general body health, but also oral health. Indeed, water has lots of potential benefits for a growing teen’s mouth!

  • It can rinse away harmful substances like sugar and acids.

  • Water containing fluoride (which 60% of Kiwis have access to via their public water supply) can help fight tooth decay.

  • It helps the body produce saliva, which as we mentioned is a person’s natural defence against mouth bacteria.

Learn more: “Busting the myths about fluoride in Northland’s water”

Do Kiwi teens get free dental care?

In some cases, yes.

New Zealanders are generally eligible for free basic dental care from when they are born until they turn 18, at which point they are considered adults. Basic care here includes common services such as check-ups, cleaning, x-rays and simple procedures (i.e. fissure sealants).

More complex procedures will likely incur a cost of some sort, based on the severity of the problem.

But, not every dentist is funded by the Ministry of Health to provide free services, and some are only funded to provide it to certain age groups. Your local dentist may charge a fee for basic child dental care, although it’s common for such practices to either reduce the fee for children or offer payment plans to help adults pay their bills without stress.

Learn more:
— Our prices here at Kowhai Dental
— Affording the dentist on a budget

Ready to book an appointment for your teen? We’re here for you

Kowhai Dental is located on Maunu Road in Whangarei and we’re here to help you through all of your teen’s oral health needs.


Making an appointment is easy: