Teenage Smoking May 2012 Blog

Teens who smoke are a heart breaker for me. I don't see teenagers who are regular smokers anyplace near the national reported average of 20%. Maybe that's simply because as one of the Pediatric Dentists Fort Collins, our area is an incredibly healthy town. Possibly it's due to the fact those kids are usually not receiving standard dental care, and perhaps it's simply because we define frequent in a different way. Whatever the cause, when I do see a patient who has taken up smoking, it tends to make me very unhappy. Ordinarily it's a young lady, and commonly I have watched them grow up in my pediatric dentists Fort Collins practice. I also note that commonly the parents smoke. Some teens believe they're able to slide by without having me noticing, however they overlook the smell, the tooth staining, the yellow palate and tongue, and the gum disease.

If this really is your teen, I really feel for you. My working experience is sobering in that I firmly believe the habits teens establish will likely be the ones they've got in adulthood. That is definitely smoking, but it is also day-to-day care for their teeth and gums. Gum inflammation which is common in childhood generally gets far better as teens commence to come to be far more hygienically aware. But for some it's a different story, the hygiene gets concealed behind hairstyles and behaviors. I've witnessed nightmares in the mouths of fairly young women who commit hours fixing themselves up. Smoking compounds the troubles of inflammation, decreasing the healing response and contributing to quick breakdown of your periodontal tissues- the gums and bone that hold the teeth. When bone shrinks away from your teeth, nothing at all will place it back.

I commonly approach the subject directly and confidentially together with the teen. They are generating their particular selections, so it can make sense to speak with them. I express my feelings, I offer to assist, I inquire of them what is important to them. I seek to limit my discussion of the effects of smoking to the oral cavity, so a teen will see I am speaking from a position of know-how as opposed to adopting a parent mode. I've had good luck with this straight forward strategy in this form; the teen stops later on plus the younger sibling tells me. Non confrontation.

If that doesn't do the job, it's been tougher. A fresh product now available is often a novel strategy that employs technologies in the teen's hand to halt smoking. You guessed it, a cellphone app to end. The National Cancer Institute has taken the benefit in the simple fact that 75% of teens have a cell phone. The App sends encouraging text messages to help the teen keep in mind and steel themselves at intervals they opt for, additionally they can seek text aid when they have a awful craving or slipped up. Where gum or sunflowers seeds employed to provide smokers an option, now teens can reach out with their fingers in the confidential way that doesn't involve parents, authority, or even peers. Pretty novel concept!

Teens can sign up by texting the words QUIT or IQUIT (47848) or go to "www.teen.smoke..gov/smokefreeTXT.aspx". totally free With 20% of teens now smoking, we've got nothing to lose. Especially if it's your teen. I enjoy what I do and would like to assist you raise balanced, joyful young children.

For concerns on this or any other pediatric dental topic, contact me, your Fort Collins pediatric dentist, any time.

Happy Spring !
Greg