One of the most chronic childhood dental conditions affecting children in Canada is tooth decay. When tooth decay doesn’t receive timely attention from children’s dental care, cavities become painful and interfere with speaking, playing, and learning. Children with poor oral health report lost school time and receive lower grades than children without tooth decay. The figures might sound alarming, but would you be surprised if informed 20 percent of children between 5 to 11 have at least one untreated cavity, 13 percent of adolescents between 12 and 19 have one untreated decayed tooth. Children between five and 19 from low-income households are twice as likely to have cavities than children from higher-income families.
Fortunately, cavities are a preventable condition, with fluoride varnish helping prevent approximately 33 percent of cavities in primary teeth also are. Children from communities receiving fluoridated water report fewer cavities than children that don’t have access to fluoridated water. Children brushing every day with fluoride toothpaste also have fewer cavities. Dental sealant applications help prevent cavities for several years after an application protecting children against 80 percent of cavities or at least six years.
Why Do Kids Develop Dental Problems?
Despite parents wanting the best for their child’s dental health right from the time their first baby tooth erupts, they find it challenging to promote healthy oral hygiene habits to prevent the most common dental issues children will face. Unfortunately, regardless of age, all children have problems related to their dental health. It is why the children’s dentist near me promotes preventive and proactive care.
Young children are not proficient in brushing and flossing unless supervised by their parents. Therefore most children confront the significant problem of cavities because they have a sugary diet. Tooth decay starts when plaque accumulates on the tooth surface, and the acids deposited by the bacteria in the plaque erode tooth enamel to eventually were the tooth off.
Tooth decay is entirely preventable by a children’s dentist when the child develops their first tooth. Therefore, parents would be committing a grave error, thinking children have primary teeth fall off by six or seven and need no dental attention. Instead, parents should seek help from children’s dentistry in NW, Calgary, where they receive all the necessary support to teach good oral hygiene habits to their children to prevent unnecessary problems and expenditure.
What Is the Importance of Children’s Dentistry?
The importance of children’s dentistry starts well before children develop any teeth. Parents taking babies to the
children’s dentist in Calgary receive advice to wipe the baby’s gums using a soft washcloth in the morning after their first feeding and right before bed at night to wipe away bacteria and sugars primary culprits that cause cavities. Parents might express surprise why they must brush their child’s gums when they haven’t erupted any teeth. In such cases, inquiring and learning from the dentist how tooth decay can develop even in babies’ mouths proves beneficial.
Baby teeth must receive attention from the time they erupt at around age one. Brushing their teeth with a soft-bristled toothbrush and plain water is recommended. The baby must visit the children’s dentist on their first birthday to detect signs of early problems. After that, parents can discuss fluoride treatments with their children’s dentists to strengthen their tooth enamel.
Children must brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and receive encouragement from parents to drink tap water containing fluoride. When their first molars appear at around six, parents can discuss the application of dental sealants on the back teeth.
Children younger than six must receive supervision from parents to ensure they use a pea-sized grain of toothpaste when brushing and spit it out instead of swallowing it. Children also need help holding their brush until they develop proficient skills.
If drinking water doesn’t contain sufficient fluoride to prevent cavities, the children’s dentist can provide oral fluoride supplements in various forms to strengthen the child’s tooth enamel.
Besides tooth decay, children can also develop pediatric gingivitis and gum disease. In reality, gum disease is also pretty common in children. However, gingivitis which causes bleeding and reddish gums is often ignored by parents thinking it is a matter of aggressive brushing by their child instead of seeking help from the children’s dentist near them.
Children’s dentistry aims to provide parents of young children the information on how they can care for their child’s teeth until they grow up as adolescents. Children receiving appropriate oral hygiene instructions early develop excellent dental hygiene routines to maintain a beautiful smile throughout their lives.
Parents who have newborns and are confused about dental care will find all the help they want when they contact a children’s dentistry clinic near them. We recommend parents of young children contact
Toothworks for assistance with children’s dentistry as soon as possible.
