Dental Carries
I commonly see children with dental carries in the clinic. Some will come for lymphadenitis on their neck area, others will come for recurrent mouth sores with fever, and what is common among them is that they have dental carries. This means decay of the teeth involving decalcification of the dental tissues.
Dental carries is usually seen from 4 to 8 years in primary teeth and between 12 to 18 years in permanent teeth. The caused is a bacteria mostly streptococci that is growing on substrate such as fermentable carbohydrates in the teeth. So, eating between meals allows food containing sucrose to provide substrate for bacteria which adhere to the teeth and produce tooth- destroying acid.
It is very important for us to take care of our children’s teeth. We must bring them to our friendly dentists for regular check up and dental care. As early as the first tooth eruption is the best time for their dental visit. Children should be properly advised on proper toothbrushing. Lack of oral hygiene allows food to collect on the teeth for the bacteria to act upon.
To reiterate, proper dental hygiene is the key to avoidance of dental caries. It is wrong for parents to wait for permanent teeth to come before visit to the dentist. Our friendly dentists can teach us and our children the proper way to do toothbrushing. Also, they can give fluoride treatment. The presence of fluoride in the drinking water of more than 1.0 ppm is associated with less incidence of caries compared to that in areas where water fluoride content is below 0.5ppm. We should also know that if the fluoride content is over 2.0 to 2.5 ppm, mottling of the enamel may take place. Our dentists may give topical fluoride during the period of tooth eruption, both primary and secondary. Dentists can also do dental prophylaxis and can assess and do immediate elimination of active lesions to prevent spread to uninvolved teeth. On our part as parents and caregivers, we should avoid giving snacks (high sugar containing snacks and beverages) to children in between meals and to avoid infant’s bedtime bottle. This could also lead to Baby Bottle Tooth Decay Syndrome. We should always remember that a healthy teeth gives a beautiful smile. A happy baby makes a mommy happy.