Dental Care Checklist for College Bound Teens

For many parents, their teen leaving for college is the first painful step in the bird leaving the nest. In all likelihood, this is the first time you will have to trust your teen to take care of him or herself over a long period of time without any real supervision. However, before he or she leaves for college, you can still make sure the little things are taken care of, like one final dental visit and a checklist to help him or her maintain oral health.

Why Your Teen Needs to Visit the Dentist before Leaving for College

• Wisdom Teeth – it has probably been some time since you even thought about your wisdom teeth, but your teen is right in that window where problems can occur with these teeth (typically between the ages of 17 and 25). As you may recall, an impacted wisdom tooth can be extremely painful as well as affecting the health of teeth in the surrounding area. Having your teen’s wisdom teeth checked prior to leaving may allow you to address any problems while you can still care for them at home.
• Whitening Treatment – another reality of teenage life is braces. In many cases, the braces are coming off just as the teens are walking down the aisle to receive their high school diploma. Having your teen’s teeth whitened before college will give him or her a little more confidence stepping out on his or her own. A nice, bright smile will go a long way during those first days at his or her new school.
• Bi-Annual Checkup and Cleaning – do you remember your days at college? Better yet, how about those nights? It would be nice to think our children are eating healthy and taking care of their teeth between meals, but the reality in college is a lot of junk food, pizzas, soda, and candy are being put into their belly on a regular basis. Without mom or dad there to make sure they are brushing after meals and before bed, their oral health may suffer during their time away. Schedule the bi-annual cleaning before they leave for school and the timing should work out perfectly for break and next year before school starts again.

Going to school is the first time our teenagers are able to act like adults, but we know they will not take care of everything on their own. Taking care of the little things before they leave will help ensure their oral health and your piece of mind.

If you do not have dental insurance and are hesitant to schedule preventive visits because of the cost of dental care, consider signing up for a discount plan such as the Wellness Dental Plan. If you want to learn how you can save as much as 20% off your next dental visit, click here.

*Photo Courtesy of The Leaf Project via Creative Commons License