The characteristically dental and oral affections of the teen age are:
Caries, can outburst around the age of 14-15, the incidence reaching 90 percent in this period.
Gingivitis,due to hormonal changes and plaque existence.
Pericoronaritis is an inflammation of the gingiva (gum), sometimes followed by pus and can appear as an eruption complication of the third molar (wisdom tooth).

Accidents are also frequent at this age as teens engage themselves in different sports that can be quite extreme sometimes.

As in every medical field,prevention is better than treatment.It`s also much cheaper!
In that idea all of the above conditions can be prevented and this is as cheap as it can get, because after the affections are installed, the professional treatment is the only option.

Caries can be prevented first by a good hygiene,meaning correct tooth brushing, flossing and rinsing with special mouth rinses.
A very efficient caries prevention is the sealing of the tooth.The method is performed by a clinician and consists in filling the natural fissures and pits of the molar,without any drilling required.The sealing should be done as soon as the molars erupts,respectively around the age of 6 for the first molars and around 12 for the second ones.It should be checked out every 1 or 2 years but it`s worth it!
Periodical fluoridations of the teeth are also a good prevention of tooth decay.
You can either ask your dentist to perform it in his office, or apply it yourself by putting some fluoride gel in a bite guard (half filled) and then biting in the guard for an hour and repeating the process every 6 months.
It is important that the teen is motivated and aware of the consequences of consuming possibly teeth damaging foods like:acid beverages,sweets or even by smoking.
In order to keep their good hygiene even away from home, they should rinse their mouth energetically with mouth rinse or even just with water after each meal and snack,use floss or toothpicks and never skip the bedtime brushing even if they only had a little snack.
Gingivitis appears like a swelling of the gingiva surrounding the tooth.It can break into acute episodes during the teenage years,due to hormonal changes.
Good hygiene is an important factor to prevent or even to cure it.A periodical professional cleaning must be performed every 6-12 months to teenagers that accumulate plaque.This is very important for their future periodontal state.
Usually after the professional cleaning,if a good hygiene is maintained,the symptoms regress.
Pericoronaritis of the wisdom tooth cannot really be prevented giving the fact that there is no exact time of the eruption of that tooth.
It usually appears in maxillary that lack space and it can have quite intense symptoms like local swelling, intense redness and white margins.Under the swollen gingiva pus can be observed.The pain and trismus (involuntary contraction of the muscles of mastication, inducing the impossibility to open completely the mouth) are noticeable.
It can be sometimes treated home by washing the pus with a syringe with hydrogen peroxide 3/o (not higher concentration!) . The needle should be inserted between the molar and the adjacent gingiva without piercing.Always spit out the peroxide and repeat the operation a few times a day.
It`s also helpful to make a small cord out of cosmetic cotton, soaked with Tetracycline cream and to insert it in the gap formed under the swollen gingiva.
Don`t`forget to take it out after a few hours and use it only once or twice a day.
The only way to protect the teeth from accidents is by wearing a splint as often as possible,especially for extreme risky sports.

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