This article is subject to protection of the US copyright act. It may not be copied or electronically transmitted in whole or in part without the express prior written permission of the author. Becoming a mature, healthy adult is a challenging task. Each teenager, like it or not, will have to make decisions that profoundly affect his or her future and well-being. Despite the fact that adolescence is such an important stage of our children's lives, they often fail to receive routine preventive health care.
Most teens visit health professionals infrequently, usually only for minor injuries and illnesses.
Even the physical exams for school, sports and camp are too brief to fully address the ongoing needs of the average adolescent. We need to encourage teenagers to seek routine care, even when they are not sick and have no other reason to visit the doctor. It is care conducted when the teen appears healthy, much like well-baby exams and regular adult physicals. A lot can happen in just one year of an adolescent's life, so annual visits are often recommended between ages 10 and 20. The primary goal is to search for early signs of potential problems.