Caries in children: causes, symptoms, prevention

Even very young children can have caries on milk teeth. This gives the baby unpleasant painful sensations. Over time, it becomes difficult for him to chew on the side where decay has formed on the tooth. Because of this, there may be violations in the formation of the bite. What causes tooth decay and how to prevent it?

Causes of dental caries in children

Often caries in children occurs for several reasons. The most common of them are:

• Weak enamel can be hereditary in a child.
• During pregnancy, the mother did not receive enough substances to form strong enamel. The child may have a tendency to caries due to a deficiency of microelements.
• Insufficient hygiene. Even if the child has grown only one tooth, it already needs to be cleaned. This can be done with a special soft cloth.
• Frequent feeding from a bottle leads to caries on the front teeth, because there accumulate residues of milk or juice.
• Excessive consumption of sweets creates a breeding ground for bacteria.
• Excess fluoride can lead to fluorosis, a pathology of tooth enamel. It is important to teach your child to spit out toothpaste and rinse their mouth thoroughly.
• The child eats only soft food, there is no load on the teeth, and the enamel is thinning.

Symptoms of caries in children

At the initial stage of caries, a whitish spot is formed, speaking about the thinning of enamel. Pain is not felt. This problem can be eliminated and stop the development of caries. Remineralizing agents are used as prescribed by the doctor.

With superficial caries, when the deep tissues of the tooth are not affected, unpleasant sensations can occur during meals, from cold or hot food or liquids. Medium caries manifests itself in the fact that the dentin is affected, a cavity is visible. Pain occurs from sweet, salty or acidic foods. With deep caries, the lesion of tissues almost reaches the pulp. Pain can occur without exposure to irritants and temperature. If caries is not treated at this stage, there is a risk of tooth loss.

Prevention of dental caries in children

A few ways how to prevent tooth decay in a child:

• Do not give your child sweets several times during the day, especially on a walk. It's better to give him a treat at home when you have a chance to rinse his teeth with water after a sweet. Check that pieces of candy do not stick to the surface of the tooth.
• To accustom the child to healthy food: fish, vegetables, fruits, from which he will get vitamins and trace elements that are good for the teeth.
• Help your child to brush their teeth regularly so that it becomes a habit. At first, you should brush after your child because he or she still lacks the skill to do it well.
• Visit the dentist regularly for checkups. If necessary, he will prescribe means to strengthen the enamel: coating the teeth with calcium, phosphorus and other trace elements. He can also seal the fissures of the teeth so that food does not get stuck in the recesses of the tubercles, ozone therapy for disinfection and other procedures.

To minimize the risk of caries, it is necessary to take comprehensive care of the child's health. Full nutrition, control the consumption of sweets, quality hygiene. If you regularly examine the child's teeth and visit the dentist, you can detect the white spots of initial caries in time. Timely treatment at this stage will help to completely stop the pathological process.