Children are active. They like to play around all day and eat whatever they like. And parents on the other hand keep running around them to feed them properly and ensure that they are safe. Just like you are careful about the overall health of your children, it is essential to take care of their oral hygiene.
Basically, tooth decay is not a problem that affects only adults, even children are prone to it. Children are prone to tooth decay because they love eating food that has too much sugar content and needs supervision to ensure that they are brushing their teeth properly. Sometimes, parents keep wondering what causes their children’s cavities.
What Do You Mean By Tooth Decay?
Tooth decay refers to the destruction of tooth enamel and leads to cavities or holes in the teeth. Tooth enamel is the hard surface that protects the teeth from the attack of bacteria. But once the enamel loses its functional efficiency, it breaks down and leaves the teeth in a vulnerable condition.
What Is The Reason Behind The Cause Of Tooth Decay In Children?
In general, when the enamel becomes weak when the food that contains sugar content is left on the teeth and not cleaned properly. Foods such as soft drinks, soda, cakes, candies, fruit juices are the ones that cause tooth decay. They stay in the mouth along with other bacteria and convert into acid, if not brushed out effectively. When the bacteria, food particles, acid, and saliva combine together they form plaque which immediately sticks to the teeth and destroys the teeth enamel. Once the enamel becomes weak, it becomes easy for the bacteria to attack the teeth and can cause cavities.
Do You Know About The Symptoms Of Tooth Decay In Children?
Well, tooth decay may show different symptoms for each child, but there are some common symptoms that will help you to know that your child is suffering from tooth decay.
- You could see some white spots forming on the affected area of the teeth. These white spots indicate that the enamel is breaking down, leaving the teeth exposed to the bacteria. This would also lead to early teeth sensitivity.
- Besides white spots, you could also see light brown color on the teeth, which is basically the early sign of a tooth cavity. If you do not pay attention to the light brown stains, within no time it would turn dark brown and then black. It would indicate that the cavity has grown deeper.
- Tooth decay also causes severe pain in the surrounding areas of the affected teeth/tooth.
Sometimes, it might happen that your child’s teeth don’t show any symptoms of teeth decay and it could be revealed only when the dentist would find it during regular checkups.
What Are Some Best Ways To Diagnose Tooth Decay In Children?
Nowadays parents are taking the oral health of their children seriously and take their kids to dentists for a regular checkup. During one of these regular checkups, your dentists would get to know that your child is suffering from tooth decay. But to be completely sure, a dentist would often recommend a few things, including
- They would like to know about the complete history of the child, what he eats regularly, and how many times he brushes his teeth or what toothpaste is being used at home.
- Dental examinations to check the condition of the teeth.
- Dental X-rays – It would help to know exactly how severe the tooth decay is.
All these things would help the dentists to have the details of tooth decay so they can suggest effective treatment for it as soon as possible.
Always Take Preventive Measures:
- You must make a habit that your child learns to brush teeth as soon as they start to appear.
- You must make use of fluoride toothpaste and a toothbrush with soft bristles.
- Help your child to floss the teeth twice a day.
- Make sure your child eats a well-balanced diet. Limit snacks that are sticky and high in sugars. These include chips, candy, cookies, and cake.
- Besides all this, you must take your child for regular dentist visits.
Summary:
Tooth decay in your child can be easily treated if you are vigilant about it. So, to maintain the oral health of your child, regular visits to dentists is quite essential. They would help you to treat the problems in the early stages and also suggest some preventive measures that would help the child to keep their teeth healthy and strong for lifelong. Moreover, if you maintain healthy eating and dental habits, it will not allow any problem to take place.