Oral Hygiene and Your Teenager:
Teenagers can be tough on their teeth. They may be busy with school, jobs, and other extracurricular activities that it’s difficult to find time to brush. Their inadequate brushing paired with junk food, make it a breeding ground for decay.
Here are a few tips to help your teenager through the years without cavities:
1. Talk to your teenager, and encourage them to take good care of his or her teeth. Because they care a lot about what they look like, they will want to avoid things like stains, bad breath, and missing teeth.
2. Set a good example. If you take care of your teeth, it will reinforce that good oral hygiene is important to you.
3. Buy plenty of oral health care supplies and keep them readily available for your teen to use.
4. Stop buying junk food. Keep lots of fruits and already cut up vegetables around the house for snacking.

Special dental issues for your teenager:
1. Orthodontics or braces- to fix crowded or crooked teeth and poor jaw alignment.
2. Mouthguards- if you play sports, they help to protect against broken teeth, cut lips, and other damage to your mouth.
3. Nutrition-Sugars and starches in many snack foods and drinks support the formation of plaque, which causes tooth decay.
4. Smoking-if you don’t smoke or chew tobacco already, don’t start. Smoking stains your teeth and gums, the tartar buildup and also contributes to bad breath. There is also the risk of oral cancer and gum disease.
5. Oral piercing-causes complications such as infections, uncontrollable bleeding and nerve damage. You can also choke on loose mouth jewelry, and chip or crack your teeth and damge your gums.
6. Eating disorders-bulimia and anorexia are serious disorders that can affect the appearance of teeth by eroding the tooth enamel.
7. Wisdom Teeth (third molars)-impacted can damage nearby teeth or cause infection.
8. Bleaching-some ingredients can irritate gum tissue or cause tooth sensitivity, if not used correctly.
9. Bad breath-caused by improper oral hygiene. Brush, floss, and visit your dentist regularly.

No matter what your age, there are some basic steps everyone needs to follow if you want to keep your teeth for a lifetime. Some people assume they will lose their teeth as they age, but that doesn’t have to happen. Eight steps to keep your mouth and teeth healthy:
1. Understand your own oral-health needs.
2. Commit to a daily oral-health routine
3. Use fluoride
4. Brush and floss to remove plaque
5. Limit high sugar snacks, and eat a balanced diet
6. Quit using tobacco of any kind
7. Examine your mouth regularly
8. Visit your dentist regularly