Studies have shown that students in the United States missed more than 50 million school hours each year due to dental health problems and related issues. Conversely, students who have healthy teeth consistently maintain better attendance records. Furthermore, most children who miss a single day due to an oral health condition will wind up missing at least one to two more days because of a related issue. One of the primary symptoms of oral disease (a toothache) can be extremely distracting to a student, leading to a lack of concentration, resulting in poor grades, and often causing them to miss school altogether. Dr. Roland Buyama stresses the importance of pediatric dentistry and proper dental hygiene during a child's younger years in order to avoid the unnecessary pain, hassle, and absences associated with dental problems that may arise later on.
Aside from brushing and flossing, students are urged to attend at least two dentist appointments per year. As a pediatric dentistry specialists, Dr. Roland Buyama has dealt with young people of all ages, ranging from toddlers to teenagers. He says that most dental problems found in younger children are easier to treat than those seen in teenagers, as many teenagers have already become accustomed to poor dental hygiene practices and have been developing oral health issues for years.
The facts speak for themselves – failing to schedule dentist appointments for your child will not only increase the chances of them missing school days, it will also result in physical and emotional pain as they'll have to deal with toothaches and the self-esteem issues that come with poor dental health. With practices like Dr. Buyama's accepting government-funded assistance, and so may ways to obtain dental health coverage for your child, there is simply no excuse to subject them to the challenges associated with poor dental health.
