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Health & Fitness

How White Plains Parents Can Help Maintain a Child's Orthodontic Health at Summer Camp

Being away at summer camp comes with a lot of responsibility. For a child, this freedom can go in a good or bad direction, depending on how responsible your child is. Many times articles and blog posts give tips to kids on how to maintain their braces over the summer. But there are many ways a parent can help with keeping orthodontics on track over the summer as well. As a parent, it’s important that you guide your child over the summer to prevent more trips to the orthodontist later. Here’s how:

Send them with a lot of information. The more your child knows about the dangers of being lazy with braces care, the less likely they are to slack. Tell them of all the possible risks. These include increased treatment time, pain in the mouth due to increased movement, and discoloration due to uneven brushing or whitening. They may also face breakages that can hurt or cut the inside of their mouth.

Tell supervisors. The purpose of a counselor or other staff at a sleep away camp is to become like a parent to your child. This means looking after them in all aspects of their day-to-day life. Letting a counselor know that your child needs to take care of their braces will help ensure that a second set of eyes is watching over their care taking process, and can tell when they have not been keeping up with it. On the first day, mention this need to a counselor or leader.

Be involved with the nurse. Often times the nurse at your child’s camp will know a lot about braces. This means that if there is any problem, they may be able to guide your child. If not, they will be in touch with you and an orthodontist to solve the issue. If you get a call from camp about an issue, do not wait. Call your orthodontist immediately.

Send braces care packages. Send your child a package with braces care items; extra toothbrushes, wax, flossers, and more. Try to incorporate other fun items in the package as well, to get them excited about using their new things. Sending this package will be a reminder that upkeep is very important -- and easy.

Keep in mind that taking care of braces is very important. For more information, tips or help, contact your orthodontist or Dr. Sokoloff.  Dr. Sokoloff, of Sokoloff Orthodontics, can be reached at (914) 949-0068 or you can visit his website at DocSokOrtho.com. Have a happy and healthy summer!

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