This is an incredible time in a young person's life. A teen is blooming into adulthood and starting to develop a sense of who they are in the world.
It is also a fraught time with tension developing between the teen and their parents and siblings. Rebellion, from mild to severe, can suddenly kick in. Parents wonder where their child went, who took them away and who is this person that replaced them?
There are dental implications at this time that are often overlooked because the focus is often placed on the behavioural issues, school and study problems, and general discipline issues that are screaming for attention. The dental issues are well worth discussing because they can set a teenager up for dental health problems as an adult.
Increasing freedom of movement, access to more pocket money and less stringent supervision can result in a drastic increase in sugar consumption. This can in turn lead to the development of tooth decay in children who have never had this problem before.
The risk increases if toothbrushing reduces or disappears altogether. It can be impossible to get some teenagers to shower regularly, let alone brush their teeth. If poor oral hygiene kicks in, then the risk of gingivitis increases, along with greater risk of tooth decay.
Late night snacking can occur if teenagers develop sleeping problems. This seems to be a burgeoning global issue with the growing prevalence of computer gaming throughout the night, and fear of leaving the game in case the player loses everything they have won. To stay awake, they will hit the sweet snacks, the 'energy' drinks and the soft drinks. Too many parents are unaware that late night gaming and food binges are going on in their home.
Some young people take up smoking and vaping at this time. Smoking is at least detectable because of the smell. That does not mean it is easy to control. Vaping, perceived to be 'safer', is actually more risky for poor oral health outcomes than smoking. It is also harder to detect because it does not leave a residual odour. Both smoking and vaping increase the risk of gum disease and tooth decay (along with a host of other health issues that are well reported).
The teen years are also a time when experimentation with recreational drugs can occur. Marijuana has many negative impacts on general and oral health. We all know that stopping your teenager from experimenting with and using recreational drugs is challenging.
I am really not painting a great picture here. But surely it is wiser to be honest and talk about what is going on, rather than maintain the sort of silence that has every parent believing that they are alone facing these challenges?
So many parents resort to the worn out approaches of nagging and yelling to enact change, but we all know that nagging and yelling do not work. Recall your own teen years and your reaction to your parents screaming at you. If it did work, great. Use it. But if it just turned you off, then consider that your teen will be feeling the same.
It is also not a matter of ignoring the problems and pretending they will go away. They won't. In the void, a teen will persist with what they are doing, and in typical teen style be convinced that they are right.
This is the time for us parents to dig deep in our own routine, our own care, our own sleep patterns and our own diet. This is a time to examine how we use food, whether is be for comfort or to add a thrill to the day. How much sugar are we consuming? Is our home filled with sweet treats and drinks, making everyone's access just too easy? How well are we brushing and flossing our own teeth? Are we skipping nights of flossing because we can't be bothered? Are we seeking regular professional dental care?
In other words, what example are we setting?
Don't give yourself a hard time, if you have created a home full of lollies, soft drinks and tooth care laxness. Just get very real, and make it a simple matter of tightening up your own self-care routines.
When you do this, it gives you license to address your teen with very simple authority. You do not need to yell (which carries no weight with teens anyway). Nor do you need to pretend things are not happening (giving them free rein to carry on).
You can speak with the real weight of your lived experience. This is far more powerful than any of the tricks or tips seen in most parenting guide books. It is also far less exhausting than undertaking negotiations that finely balance discipline against rewards. From what I have witnessed, too many teens get the rewards without enacting the discipline.
In the end, you cannot actually make them do anything. If they are deadset on rebelling, they will rebel, but you can offer them the standard that you live by. You can make your home more tooth friendly but not providing the constant source of sugar and soft drinks they crave.
And you can show them that responsible adulting involves caring for the body you live in.
This may not give you the easy answers you were hoping for, but it certainly provides a fresh approach to this challenging problem.
