Parents need to know this: good oral health starts even before teeth come through!
We will identify how to fight those black enemies with Dr. Yasmin – original article was featured on Gulfnews.
Tooth decay can develop once your baby’s first tooth shows itself. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, 8 out of 10 children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years suffer from tooth decay.
What is causing Tooth decay really?
As Dr. Yasmin Kottait explains it is the most common chronic childhood disease! It is originally a bacterial disease that in fact develops when your baby’s mouth infected by these creepy crawler acid-producing bacteria.
Some studies suggest that a mother with a cavity may transfer oral bacteria to their baby whilst doing the normal activities of taking care of a baby! These bacteria may develop inside babies mouths and parents may ignore it thinking it’s still too early.
So the bacteria become vicious feeding and converting sugars from milk and food into acid.
The acid by product works its way on those poor baby teeth leading to decay!
How does ‘baby bottle tooth decay’ look like?
Baby teeth are just completely different than adults. Not only are they smaller, but also their enamel is thinner and more prone to these nasty bacteria! Infection reaches the root canal structure of a milky tooth much faster than an adult.
How do you know your child has got Baby bottle tooth decay?
The early symptom of decay, according to Dr. Yasmin, is a change in the structure of the tooth. If you see white spots on your child tooth’s surface, you should consult your favorite pediatric dentist to help contain this problem super early on!
How to treat Baby Bottle Tooth Decay?
At an early stage, finding a slight discoloration of these white baby teeth means you can rush to the dentist for infants or toddlers and request the placement of fluoride varnish over the teeth to stop bacteria from developing and to rebuild the surface enamel.
If decay is spotted at a later stage, like brown or black spots, bleeding gums, bad breath or irritability then a fluoride treatment would no longer be enough and decay removal is needed some time leaving the dentist the only option to do it through an operation under general anesthesia.
Every one knows baby teeth fall out, what is the big deal?
Most parents don’t take teeth issues of toddlers very seriously. Dr. Yasmin warned: “An untreated decay may lead to nerve affection, pain and an abscess (whether in the face or the bone) so easily”. In children, or babies and toddlers, the risk for this happening is so huge and it can happen so fast! Bacteria can travel much faster than in adults! True story.
Some parents mistakenly think that if a tooth breaks down as a result of decay, the permanent tooth will replace it.
“I had a case of a five-year old who was hospitalized when his left eye got inflamed. This brave boy had to undergo 4 days admitted to a hospital complaining of an eye abscess! So many antibiotics later and it was found that the origin of the eye problem came from a top tooth that got infected and led to an abscess that spread to the eye!”
Imagine the serious consequences of decay if an untreated tooth could have caused actually permanent blindness.”
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How to prevent Bottle tooth decay?
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Brushing
The best preventive measures is brushing, even if your child is just six-month-old and only has one or two teeth, you can still wipe the tooth after feeding.
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Low sugar diet
Even it is called ‘baby bottle tooth decay’, but it’s not only milk causing this decay, all kinds of high-sugar foods like juice and cereals can trigger the disease.
To conclude the golden nuggets of preventing all these problems of ‘baby bottle decay” is brushing the baby’s teeth as early as 6 months, a diet low in sugar, and giving your toddler lots of water to increase saliva.
Read this Blog: Is Your Child Scared to go to the Dentist? – Dr. Yasmin Kottait
