Can Cavities Cause Bad Grades?

Poor oral health has been linked to poor school performance. Parents and educators should take note.

Healthy students tend to be better learners, and better learners are more likely to experience a successful start into adulthood.

The findings are a call to action to help all young children and K-12 students to have healthy smiles.

Here’s how:

Cavities 101

No. 1 Chronic Childhood Disease

Childhood tooth decay is the most common disease among kids. It can cause pain and infections into adulthood with lasting physical, emotional, social or economic outcomes.

Importance of Baby Teeth

And we’re not only talking about cavities found in permanent teeth. Even though those baby teeth fall out, they are essential for a toddler to learn how to eat, speak, swallow and smile correctly. They also serve as important placeholders for the incoming permanent teeth. It’s vital to keep those pearly whites in good health from the very start.

Contagious Cavities

The not-so-fun fact: Cavities are contagious.

An untreated cavity can spread to the other teeth, eventually infecting the whole mouth. The bacteria can also be transmitted from one person to the next by sharing food and beverages, using the same flatware and kissing.

Cavity-Related School Absences

Unfortunately, school-age children reportedly miss more than 34 million school hours each year due to acute (unplanned) dental care for toothaches and other dental diseases. The number of school hours lost because K-12 students can’t concentrate in class due to toothaches may be even higher.

Kids with poor oral health are 3 times more likely to miss school than their counterparts.

Absences Caused by Dental Pain Can Lower School Performance

These absences and disrupted classroom time caused by toothaches can hurt academic performance.

Various studies show that children with poor oral health tend to have lower grade point averages and underperform academically compared to their peers with healthy teeth and gums.

The research shows another interesting, reassuring fact: School absences due to routine dentist and orthodontist visits do not affect school performance.

Another reason not to miss those regular dentist checkups!

What Parents Can Do to Help Prevent Tooth Decay

• Model good oral hygiene at home by brushing twice daily and flossing once daily.
• Start good oral health habits right after birth: Clean your baby’s mouth with a washcloth twice a day; switch to a baby toothbrush when the first tooth comes in.
• Continue brushing your children’s teeth twice daily until they are old enough to follow instructions, and then teach them how to brush and floss.
• Take them to the dentist for preventive checkups and cleanings twice a year. Those visits are usually covered 100% by commercial and Medicaid insurance.
• Limit sugary and starchy snacks and drinks.
• Serve healthy meals with lots of vitamin-rich fruits and vegetables, lean protein sources and wholesome grains.
• Engage them in smile-friendly activities, storytime, crafts and home science experiments. Download our free Grin! For Kids Magazine to get started.

What Teachers Can Do to Help Prevent Tooth Decay

• Model good oral hygiene in the classroom by telling your students that you are going to brush your teeth after lunch and describing how clean your teeth felt after a recent professional cleaning.
• Incorporate Are you Up to the Challenge? for PreK-8 students to meet your learning standards about oral health. The 5-part series is available on our website for free downloading and distribution. 
• Engage them in smile-friendly activities, storytime, crafts and classroom science experiments. Download our free Grin! For Kids Magazine to get started.
• Apply for a Super Smiles at School grant from our Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation to expand oral health education in your classroom.
• Show your K-5 students our series of short animated videos about how to take good care of their teeth.

With support from their parents and teachers, kids can develop healthy smile habits for teeth and gums that last a lifetime.

Earn an A+ For Buying Dental Insurance

As a parent, you want to do the best for your children, and we want to help you do that. Let Delta Dental of Arkansas make your family’s dentist visits easy and affordable with dental insurance. We offer a variety of individual and family plans to suit your budget and needs.

Our network of dental providers is the largest in the state. Give us a call at 1-844-368-6484 or get a quote online.

We’ll talk to you soon.