Children's Dental Treatment
What is dental caries disease?
It is a disease characterized by severe caries in the teeth due to a bacterial infection called “Streptococcus mutans”, a disease that spreads widely among children, as it may affect 70% of them at times. It has untreated caries and dental infections, and the genetic component has a very important role in the emergence of dental caries in children.
What are the causes of tooth decay in children?
There are three factors that must be present for caries to occur
The first is the germs that are present in the mouth and above the surfaces of the teeth, which may reach the child’s mouth from the mother at the first kiss
The second factor is sugars, as germs need sugars in order to feed and multiply, producing strong acids that penetrate into the layers of the tooth, causing the expulsion of calcium and phosphate, which weakens the structure of the tooth and leads to the formation of a hole in the affected area.
The third factor is the presence of the tooth itself, there is no decay without the presence of teeth in the mouth, and since the beginning of the emergence of the teeth of the infant, approximately at the sixth month, it becomes vulnerable to decay.
Poor nutritional practices (leaving sugary liquids in a child’s mouth for a long time, frequently) without taking necessary preventive measures lead to different patterns of tooth decay in infants and young children.
The child’s frequent feeding of the milk bottle at night, and his sleep after feeding, all of this lead to tooth decay, which is usually known as “caries resulting from the feeding bottle.” When the infant sleeps, his tongue reserves the last sip of milk and keeps it in the mouth, which means Soaking the teeth with sugar-rich milk for a period that may extend for hours, and this leads to the occurrence of caries in all teeth except for the lower front teeth, the position of the tongue protects them from milk and is more like a protective umbrella
Also, the frequent use of training feeding cups causes this type of caries
Usually sucking lemon and citrus fruits, and excessive drinking of carbonated water leads to decay
Also, drinking juices with straws prolongs the period of juice around the teeth and leads to cavities.
Excessive intake of sweets, biscuits, and chocolate between meals, leads to cavities as well
The susceptibility to tooth decay increases in some cases: general body weakness, unbalanced nutrition, lack of iron, calcium, and phosphorous, failure to take care of the hygiene of the child’s teeth and leaving food crumbs between them, and the child’s exposure to tooth decay while he is an infant or at a young age increases the susceptibility to cascade caries of primary and permanent teeth in The future, and finally, the genetic factor has a role, as mentioned above
What are the recommendations for the prevention of tooth decay?
Maintaining the health of children’s deciduous teeth is the key to the health of permanent teeth because any injury at its roots causes an inappropriate environment for the emergence of permanent teeth. It causes crowding and overlapping of permanent teeth
It is forbidden to dip a child’s pacifier in sugar or honey and give it to him, and the use of the pacifier itself may cause the development of orthodontic problems in the teeth and occlusion (such as the occurrence of an open bite and the child is no longer able to close his front teeth
It is forbidden to breastfeed the child while he is sleeping. The child must be lifted from the mother’s breast while he sleeps, and if he is being fed from breastfeeding, he must withdraw it from his mouth as soon as he falls asleep.
You should avoid giving a bottle of sweetened drink to the infant during or before bedtime, knowing that every drink other than water is considered a sweetened drink.
The mother should start brushing her child’s teeth from the first day of the appearance of the tooth and get him used to do this alone in the future.
Contagious contact with the child should be avoided, such as kissing him by visitors and feeding him by them, and the father and mother should take care of the cleanliness of their mouths, all of which reduces the possibility of transmission of infection to children.
It is recommended to conduct the first dental examination for the child at the age of one year, and the doctor examines the proper development of the teeth and advises the parents on how to prevent the emergence of tooth decay and gingivitis, and after that, it is important to visit the dentist every six months, and the doctor performs preventive treatment by filling holes and cracks to prevent the development of caries In which
The number of sweets, eating and local drinking should be limited during the day, and reduce the “napping” between meals, especially foods rich in carbohydrates (which turn into sugars), and focus on healthy foods such as cereals, liver, sesame, green leafy vegetables, meat and foods rich in iron, and vitamins such as vitamin A necessary in the formation of a layer Enamel and vitamin C are important in the formation of the dentin layer, and calcium, phosphorous and vitamin D are important for their importance in the calcification process of teeth.
What is the correct time and way to brush your teeth?
You must start cleaning the child’s teeth from the beginning of their appearance, using a damp cloth or gauze to rub the child’s teeth and gums to remove the bacterial plaque (plaque), and this is done by wrapping the gauze piece on the index finger and gently rubbing the gums and teeth
After the age of one year, the mother begins to clean the child’s teeth using a small soft brush and water only, at a rate of two to three times a day, until the child reaches the age of two years.
At the age of two years, the mother begins to use a small amount of toothpaste containing fluorine (fluoride belongs to the category of small minerals necessary for human health, and the use of fluoride in its various forms is the most important factor for the prevention of tooth decay, and fluoride improves the ability of teeth to withstand acids) by placing an amount of A small pea-sized toothbrush on the brush, and cleans the child’s teeth twice a day, in the morning after breakfast, and in the evening before bedtime, and make sure that the child spits out the paste and not swallow it.
At about six years of age, the child can brush his teeth independently, but parents should continue to encourage him and monitor the process and frequency of brushing so that the child can be taught the correct brushing habits in the long term.
Medical floss should be used to clean the areas between the teeth that the brush cannot reach.