11/19/2024
đŁď¸just gave a thought of dentistry and teens mental health : please let me know your criticisms.
Clues and Blues â A dentist perspective of Youth Mental health:
So, there I was, examining a Gen-z patient and what do I find? Unclean teeth, plaque buildup and gum bleeding. Oh, my this is like a dental horror Movie! I couldnât help but think, âhow did this happen?â. Just a while ago, this patient was my star listener and ultimate follower of good dental advice. I mean, practically we were best friends in the quest for shiny teeth! But now? Its like stumbled universe. Whatâs going on in the world of TikTok and Instagram. Looks like teens are too busy to put up the viral challenges to pick up brushes and embarking on whitening / brightening smiles.
This dental dilemma and this mysteriously messy mouth should warn a dentist for digging into the world of mental health.
Negligence of oral health may indicate your young patient is struggling from some kind of mental sickness.
Youth is a time frame between childhood and adulthood, where the body and mind get to know new things, itâs a self-discovery and a search of self happens. We adults clearly misses the understanding if this spectrum. We, as parents place a heightened competition, increase the trend of comparison culture, 24/7 connection with technology and we only emphasize on success. Collectively we create a toxic environment for our youth. This environmental pressure creates anxiety/ phobias, depression and other behavioural changes in our youngsters.
A teenager never showed fear in a dental chair throws up tantrum, gripping the chair tightly, fidgeting, showing shallow breathing might indicate a dentist about generalized anxiety. Calming down and letting the patient talk might give us some clues on these phobias. If these are persistent and overwhelming seeking for help or referral to a crisis helpline is crucial. So a dentist can be the first line detector or a superhero to find out these blues in our kids.
Another day in my dental adventure, I noticed something that wasnât just cavities or braces in my young female patient. It quickly hit my brain this smile is calling for an extra care. Early signs of bulimia, and anorexia could be seen in your teeth and a quick chat with parents, or a referral would help our little legend to get through this. These eating disorders have some genetic connections, so parental discussions would help to identify the root of these problems. A family dentist would easily connect the dots. This looks like a dentist has x-ray vision and Cape to uncover the DNA chemistry.
Great times a dentist also could find out âshadowsâ in patientâs Bright smile. These Rebel squads (teenagers) shows signs of grinding, clenching, ignoring brushing, biting their lips, getting canker sores, low energy levels not engaging in conversation, disagree with advice, no eye contact while sitting in a dentist chair. Troubleshooting or decoding these clues will help our tiny rebelâs well-being and development. Connecting with parents and teachers and embark on open communication with these tiny coders would make them comfortable to walk through.
In many times while treating teens in my dental chair, the greater challenge I had faced is with parents. We once called this as helicopter parenting and now itâs called as Snowplow parenting. These parents are overprotective and not allow the child to develop independence and resilience. They remove the obstacles before the child faces it. Many times, they answer my questions before the child attempt to. The negative consequence of these parenting is massive and long lasting. When I treat teens, I take time treating them alone without their parental squads. Navigating our youngsters to find their own way in this world is challenging for each of us. As dental care providers we always keep an eye on our patients smiles and Minds.
Another phase when I realize that my little dreamers show less attention when I talk. Their thoughts look like zooming and surfing all over. Your questions to them will not be answered and not followed and they behave like chatterbox and show rollercoaster emotions then as a dentist we shoud think of ADHD- the attention deficit/Hyperactivity disorder. I believe we are not diagnosing mental health issues, but if a sign shows doubts, raise a question to the health professional with proper referral .
Well as oral health providers we also must keep our eyes peeled for signs of domestic violence on our children. Looking for scars, suspicious injuries, talks can give us the clues. Reporting them appropriately protect your teen right at that spot.
When an adolescent come to you for a dental treatment, starting a small chat about their friends, hobbies, interests, and talk about any recent books they read. These engaging talks could help a dentist to decide of a safe teen.
So, letâs keep smiling bright and keep our teens minds in tip top shape. Any small steps we take would brighten our youngstersâ smiles. WORK TOGETHER TO KEEP OUR TINIES MIND POLISHED.
