Why is it Dangerous for Children’s Oral Health to Sleep Late at Night

Young teenagers that tend to sleep late at night are actually in danger of developing tooth decay and deal with oral problems.

Young teenagers that tend to sleep late at night are actually in danger of developing tooth decay and deal with oral problems.

We all remember those nights back in 15-16 where we’d secretly get out of bed and stay up late for absolutely no reason. While this is not harmful when happening rarely it can have a negative affect on our health if it becomes a habit. Here we are about to explain how harmful of a habit this can be. For those of you that are parents continue reading to obtain all the information and protect your teenager, for those of you that aren’t, you might want to come back to this article a few years later.

According to a study from Sweden,the increased risk of developing tooth decay is due to these children neglecting to brush their teeth regularly before bed and frequently skipping breakfast, leading to snacking throughout the day.

A group of 196 adolescents who were 15 or 16 years old completed a questionnaire about their circadian rhythms, dietary habits, oral hygiene, and demographic variables. Next, they were divided into those who were alert in the evening and tired in the morning, morning types who were the opposite, and those who weren’t particularly alert in the evening or extremely tired in the morning.

The researchers reported that 50% of the subjects were neutral, while 37% were evening types and only 13% were morning types. The neutral and morning types had breakfast and brushed twice a day more frequently. The evening types were characterized with a greater risk of caries by a factor of 3.8.

In addition to tooth decay, oral problems can affect the way that children communicate, their relationships, their development, and their wider general health. Brushing twice a day for 2 minutes each with fluoride toothpaste and regular visits to the dentist could prevent these issues. So parents, beware of those staying up late teenagers!

Athina Tsiorva

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