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Beware From Odd Stuff
Stick jaws and candies are probably your six-year-old best friend. But, ask his teeth and you’ll hear a different answer. Goodies like chocolate, candies, ice creams and sweetened beverages mean happiness for all, but do kids’ teeth loads of damage. If your child complains of toothache, difficulty biting into food and sensitivity to hot and cold drinks, it simply means it’s time for a visit to the dentist. The cause could be dental cavities.
It’s a popular misconception that milk teeth are temporary and so don’t need real care until the permanent ones arrive, roughly around the age of six.
The fact is you need to be careful from the very beginning. A set of 20 primary teeth is usually complete at the age of two and a half. This is the time you need to actively start caring for your child’s teeth, paving the way for healthier, stronger permanent teeth. Here are some simple strategies to ensure your child’s dental health.
Improve oral hygiene
Understanding that dental cavities are common in childhood is the first step towards prevention. You need to be vigilant about dental care especially if your child consumes a lot of sweet stuff and aerated drinks. According to an American study, 80% of dental cavities are found in only 25% of children—those over-indulging in candies and colas. But more than half of all children have dental caries by the age of 10. By the age of 17, approximately 80% of young people have had a dental cavity.
Dump the candy
Say no to candies
Clearly, high carbohydrate and sugar content in the diet affect kids’ teeth adversely.
Get serious
Look for discomfort while eating sweet foods and hot or cold drinks, redness in the area or swelling and pain. If the cavity becomes large, accompanied by pain, swelling or fever, take it seriously and rush your child to a dentist. Curative techniques involve palliative care such as applying Formocresol or clove oil (make sure it doesn’t touch the gums, or else it will cause an uncomfortable burning sensation) on the tooth as a painkiller.
But if your kid starts getting cavities, despite precautions, do not fret. Occurring naturally in many foods and in water, fluoride is essential to remineralise the tooth’s enamel that is demineralised by acid-forming bacteria, especially in the case of young children.
Toothpastes and mouthwash have some amount of this mineral. Dentists apply higher concentrations of fluoride to the teeth as a gel, foam, or varnish. Varnishes can be painted on the teeth while foams need to be applied to the teeth for about 1 to 4 minutes using a mouth guard. Gels are the easiest, since they can be applied locally. Fluoride supplements, available in liquid and tablet form, must be used only on prescription. Even a simple, hot saline solution used regularly as a mouthwash goes a long way in preventing cavities.
Junk the junk
Studies around the country have shown an increase in dental problems, mainly in big cities where this increase is attributed to many factors. Avoid keeping junk food at home. Burgers, fries, chocolates, highly-sweetened milkshakes, pastries, oily chips and other foods with a high fat and sugar content are considered junk. They’re very bad for your child’s teeth. Experts say that it is not only the consumption of foods rich in carbohydrates and sugar that brings about tooth decay, but also the frequency of consumption. Having three helpings of a sweet dish once a day is better than having one helping three times a day.
Choose a soft bristle toothbrush and toothpaste with fluoride. Choose one with a high fluoride content—1000 to 1500 parts per million (ppm) of fluoride if your child is over 10 and gets cavities frequently. Toothpastes with low fluoride content (500 ppm) might be a better idea if your child is under six. See that your child doesn’t swallow his toothpaste. Too much fluoride can cause permanent spots on teeth. Replace your child’s toothbrush every six months and remember to clean his tongue (a storehouse of germs) too.
Prevention is better than cure
With the right diet and good oral hygiene you can bite through this nagging childhood woe and say goodbye to dental cavities. Smile.