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Dental caries in young children. How to avoid and what to do with it?
In the previous article, we tried to create a simple algorithm for a home dental program aimed at making your child's smile beautiful and your teeth healthy. Today we will talk about why caries still appear and how to deal with it.
Caries is a disease of the hard tissues of teeth that occurs during and / or after their eruption with the direct participation of microorganisms. Currently, the prevalence of dental caries in young children is very high (on average, 87% of children in Russia have this disease). Therefore, this problem will face almost every mother.
Unfortunately, vaccines or pills against caries do not exist, but following simple recommendations will help to significantly reduce the risk of its occurrence and reduce the number of sick teeth in your children.
So, adopt the following rules:
Try to reduce the ingress of harmful microorganisms in the oral cavity of your child to a minimum. To do this, follow the basic rules of hygiene: the child must have their own dishes for food (plates, cups, appliances). Do not try food with a baby spoon, do not lick the pacifier. Remember: in the oral cavity of an adult, more than 100 species of microorganisms live, do not write off to share them with the baby!
Meals at the child should be strictly regular, and their duration is not more than 20-30 minutes. Correct the situation in which every random visit to the kitchen is accompanied by a “snack”!
Give the child less sweet, do not forget that there are tasty and healthy vegetables and fruits. You can not eat sweets at night or between main meals.
Teach your child to care for their teeth from an early age. Own example is important - all children want to be like parents. Brush your teeth together after breakfast and always before bed.
The choice of toothpaste for children under 3 years old should be stopped on specialized children's toothpastes that do not contain such active ingredients as antiseptics and fluoride. Paste for kids no need to spit or rinse while brushing your teeth. The paste should also not contain bright dyes and strong flavoring additives, since due to the sharp taste and smell, children may not like the procedure being performed.
The best choice is ROCS baby paste. This is a hypoallergenic toothpaste designed to clean the teeth of children from the moment the first tooth appears and up to 3 years old, i.e. until the moment when the child himself learns to spit paste. It contains linden extract - a soft plant component with anti-inflammatory effect (reduces the risk of possible gum inflammation during teething ), xylitol, which protects young baby teeth from bacteria that cause caries, and gives the paste a delicate sweetish taste. The amount of paste needed for one brushing depends on the number of teeth erupted. Usually it is a ball the size of a half or a whole pea.
Choosing a toothbrush is equally important. First, the toothbrush you choose should indicate for what age it is intended (for example, "0-2", that is, from the moment the first tooth appears to 2 years). Secondly, a toothbrush for the smallest should have super-soft bristles (on the package should be indicated: "super soft"). Thirdly, the working part of the toothbrush, i.e. the head with bristles should be small and compact (the size of two milk teeth), and the handle, on the contrary, should be large and voluminous so that the child can more easily and conveniently hold the brush in his hand. Toothbrush replacement should be done at least 1 time in 2 months, as well as in case the child has had a cold or an infectious disease.
Be sure to give your baby vitamin-mineral complexes, corresponding to the age group of your child. The choice of the drug and the duration of its reception should be agreed with the pediatrician and / or children's dentist.
Make sure your child breathes through his nose, because Oral respiration not only leads to the development of the pathology of the bite, but also can cause active reproduction of pathogenic bacteria due to insufficient moistening of the oral cavity!
Regularly visit the dentist (at least 2 times a year). This is necessary, first of all, for early detection of caries and prevention of its complications.
To the content
If you are told that a child has caries, the following treatment options are possible:
Tooth silvering - coating of carious cavities with a special solution containing silver ions. This procedure allows you to temporarily suspend the process of destruction of tooth tissues.
Pros:
Painless method.
Does not demand processing by a drill.
It does not take much time, the child does not get tired.
The treatment can be turned into a game (the child says to draw on the tooth).
Minuses:
Covered with a solution of the teeth often become black (this is a minus for parents. I assure you that children do not complex at all about the color of the teeth, on the contrary, it is an additional subject of pride!).
The need to repeat the procedure every 6 months.
The destroyed hard tooth tissues are not restored, the defect is not eliminated.
Tooth filling - the closure of a defect in hard tooth tissues with a filling after pretreatment. Treatment of the carious cavity can be carried out in the traditional way - with the help of a drill; Chemically-mechanical, when a special gel is introduced into the carious cavity for 20-30 seconds, after which a special hand-made tool, similar to hooks and spatulas, scrape the carious, destroyed tissues. After processing, the defect is closed with a seal.
Pros:
Restoration of lost solid tissue in full.
The ability to put a seal that produces fluoride, i.e. strengthen the tooth and do not allow germs to further multiply on its surface.
Modern seals are durable and do not require replacement.
The treatment can be turned into a game (the child chooses the color of the filling).
Minuses:
Treatment may require anesthesia, the choice of which (local or general (anesthesia)) is determined by age, psycho-emotional attitude, the child's readiness for therapeutic manipulations, as well as the number of affected teeth that need treatment.
The duration of treatment is long enough (at least 15-20 minutes), the child may be tired, close his mouth, start to act up.
High sensitivity of materials to the presence of moisture (primarily saliva). It is necessary for the child to keep his mouth open at all stages of the filling.
Of course, having considered both options, you can refuse treatment, because caries occurs in children most often painlessly. The child does not make any complaints. Unfortunately, without a timely treatment, the process will progress, and sooner or later the tooth will still ache. And no mother in the world is interested in this.
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