What’s the Connection Between Children’s Mental and Oral Health?

Your child’s dental health should always be one of your top priorities as a parent. Not only can their dental health impact their overall health but it can also impact their mental health and wellbeing as well. In fact, there’s a surprising connection between children’s mental and oral health.

To learn more about this connection, let’s dive into how your child’s dental health impacts their self-esteem as well as how their mental health can impact their oral health.

Dental Health and Self-Esteem

This may not be surprising to some, but your dental health can have a big impact on your self-esteem. This is because your smile is often one of the first things that a person notices about you. Unfortunately, if your child has crooked teeth or a tooth gap, they may be more self-conscious of their smile around others. As a result, they may be less willing to interact with others and make friends, leading to social anxiety, loneliness, and stress.

Child braces can help to correct crooked teeth, tooth gaps, and other orthodontic issues that may negatively impact your child’s self-esteem as well as their oral health. With child braces, your child can feel confident about their smile and feel more positive about making friends without worrying about being judged by others.

Mental Health’s Impact on Dental Health

If your child is living with a mental health disorder, they may need additional assistance with their dental health. For example, if your child has ADHD, they may forget to brush their teeth because they struggle with routine. This can negatively impact your child’s dental health because it puts them at greater risk of cavities. According to Humana, it only takes 48 hours for plaque to harden into tartar, which can only be removed by a dentist.

To make sure your child’s mental health isn’t impacting their dental health, consider brushing your teeth together to make it a bonding moment between the two of you. This will help to establish a routine without putting pressure on your child to remember to brush their teeth on their own. What’s more, you can make sure your child is brushing correctly and gently correct anything they might be doing wrong, like brushing too hard.

Your child’s mental and oral health often go hand-in-hand. If your kids are showing signs of needing orthodontic care, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at David Ross Orthodontics to schedule a consultation. We care about your child’s smile and their self-esteem!