If there’s one inalienable truth in the world, it’s that children love sweets. As a parent, you do your best to protect your children from all sorts of things that could do them harm. But when it comes to sweets, we all inevitably cave at least once; which means cavities are a real concern all parents should have for the health of their children’s teeth.
The good news is you’re not alone in the mission against cavities! Your local pediatric dentist is your ally against the evil “sugar bugs” and knows the best way to help stave off and prevent the development of plaque that will lead to cavities.
Here are some things every parent should know about cavity prevention, fluoride, and how to keep children’s smiles happy, healthy, and whole.
What Are Cavities and How Do They Form?
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Cavities are weak spots in your teeth that are caused by the build-up of bacteria on your teeth, commonly known as plaque (but otherwise known to the wise child as “sugar bugs”).
Cavities require four simple things: a tooth, bacteria (plaque or “sugar bugs”), sugar or other simple carbohydrates, and time.
If plaque build-up on teeth is exposed to simple carbohydrates—a.k.a. sugar—the bacteria will produce acid as a byproduct. If this acid is left to sit on teeth, it leeches the minerals from your pearly smile, weakening the tooth. After enough time, the tooth will break and cause a
cavity. Brushing and flossing teeth every day will help prevent cavities, and there are other methods that can help bolster the defense of your children’s sweet smile. Fluoride Fluoride helps inhibit the leeching of minerals from teeth and strengthens weaker areas that have already succumbed to mineral loss. Using fluoride has been proven to be a safe and effective method against cavities. After a dental exam, your dentist will recommend whether or not you should consider fluoride treatments for your children. Those children at high risk of developing cavities, either due to tooth shape or diet, are strongly recommended fluoride because of the benefits it offers to preventing cavities. If you’re not comfortable with fluoride, however, there are some alternative options. MI Paste MI paste is an alternative to fluoride that can be used to help strengthen your children’s teeth. It is a topical crème that contains phosphate and calcium, two minerals that are effective at helping protect teeth from cavities. The crème is simple to apply, and a dentist will show you and your child how to apply the paste so it can be done at home. The downside to MI paste is that it must be used daily for continued effectiveness. Sealants Sealants are a type of plastic material that dentists can use to fill in deep grooves or pits that regular brushing is unable to reach. These pits are home to plaque build-up because they cannot be regularly brushed away. Sealing up these grooves means your child will be able to brush away plaque and prevent the build-up of cavity-forming bacteria. Though helpful when it comes to deep-grooved teeth, this method does not help the rest of your teeth and must be combined with daily brushing and flossing. Regardless of the methods you choose to help fend off “sugar bugs,” it’s important to teach your children the importance of dental health. It’s a very sugary world out there, and no one wants to give up sugar completely. That’s why support from your dentist in the form of fluoride or MI paste can help maintain your children’s healthy, vibrant smiles.
In general, root caries have the same etiology as coronal cavities. S. mutans, Lactobacilli, and sometimes, Actinomyces are involved and are found in high numbers in root caries, but there are two main differences between enamel and root surface caries. (Flaitz) These differences cause the lesion on a root surface to be more destructive than that in enamel. First, because the pH at which demineralization will occur is higher for root cementum (approx. pH 6.0) than for enamel (approx. pH 5.0).(Wilkins) Therefore, root cementum has potential for demineralization at an earlier point in time than enamel does. Secondly, once the cementum is demineralized, the dentin contains dentinal tubules which, if present, are potential methods of entry for the pathogenic microbes as mentioned previously, such as S. mutans, Lactobacilli, and sometimes Actinomyces; whereas, enamel consists of tightly-arranged crystal prisms, which have a much lower chance for bacterial entry. The process of caries formation begins with colonization by acid-producing bacteria plaque. In the next step, Gram-positive bacteria invade the dentinal tubules, which leads to the ...
I would like to push back on the claim that a cavity is a disease, but I did find it interesting that fluoride fights against dental caries and I enjoyed that my attention was held up with the culprit of decay comes from sugar and bacteria from plaque.
Fluoride is a trace of nutrients that occurs naturally in water and foods (Wilson). Fluoride has been a problem in the US for quite some time now. And as time goes along, it gets more worse. The only way to fight this problem off is to use less fluoride in our daily lives. This is something everyone should know about because it is getting to the point where it is affecting people's health. The question is, is fluoride being overused in the US? Many people are getting little benefits by the naturally occurring fluoride, plus they are getting more fluoride from the dentist office. There is only a certain amount of fluoride you should intake per day, and these days those numbers are higher than they should be. Fluoride is shown that is it being overused in the US by health issues, chemical intake, and children concerns.
Improper nutrition and misbalance in our body may be the causes for tooth decay. Always pay attention to your nutrition when your teeth are considered, instead of choosing fluoride or dentistry. Our health can also be in danger when fluoride is used, even though the main reason for using fluoride is to make the teeth stronger. According to a recent study, mental disabilities are often made more difficult with the usage of fluoride. Among fluoride, mercury and arsenic are also dangerous in cases of autism
Children are often sweet and adorable, but many times they may be eating too many sweets. According to the Channel Four News, it has been shown that the number one disease in children is the reoccurrence of caries, also known as cavities. Could it be too many sweets or could it be the lack of flossing and brushing teeth? For instance, many children go to bed or wake up without brushing their teeth and go throughout the day eating all sorts of food and candy. The result of eating and not brushing could lead to plaque build up and decaying of teeth. This leaves a child extremely unhappy and in excruciating pain. So who is going to fix this pain? Who is going to help prevent decay in millions of people’s mouths? Today, the world is lucky to have a well-studied field of dentistry.. Dentistry has much history, various specialties, advancements, and an irresistible salary.
...the of the world has rejected fluoride and said it was ineffective to the body. Over 94% of the world’s population drinks unfluoridated water (12 Reasons). In Europe, only five out of 48 countries fluoridate, and European health officials have cited medical, effectiveness, and ethical concerns with it (12 Reasons). The people in Portland, Oregon and other countries that don't fluoridate could do other things to prevent tooth decay. Fluoridation is not a way to reduce the high cavity rates in the cities that have fluoridated their waters for a long time. In the city of Portland, To help protect childrens teeth, they should increase the access to dental care. “The Portland Metro Area untreated cavity rates are 21% which is below the average 29% by having better access to dental care and prevention Portland, Oregon could have a lower cavity rates by 2020” (12 Reasons)
Pediatric Dentists promote dental health of children as well as serve as education resources for parents. Healthy teeth are the results of healthy eating. “Like the rest of the body, the teeth, bones and the soft tissues of the mouth need a well-balanced diet. Children should eat a variety of foods from the five major food groups. Most snacks that children eat can lead to cavity formation. The more frequently a child snacks, the greater the chances for tooth decay.” (dentist4kid.com, 2014). Choose nutritious foods such as vegetables, low fat yogurt, and low fat cheese, if your child must snack, which are healthier and better for children’s teeth.
Another preventive way to help children build stronger teeth is water fluoridation prevents 2/3rd of children from them not getting cavities. (Evans par. 6) Fluoridation benefits children and let alone fifty percent of the dental bills were cut in price. (Evans par.6) The future is looking bright for the children getting better dental and oral health services. Approximately 8.7 million children are expected to gain some form of dental benefits by 2018. (Evans par.8) Regular preventive dental care, such as cleaning and regularly brushing and flossing, improve the overall health and brightens up your life. (Wallace par.1) Keeping up on the regular cleaning at the dental office, which is once every six months, helps out tremendously but some people need more then twice a year. (Payne par.5)
Elevated glucose levels assist the harmful bacterias, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Treponema denticola, by providing the substance necessary to produce the acid that combines with our saliva to form the soft, sticky film referred to as plaque. In addition, plaque is created when we eat foods containing starches or sugars.
Just like with any other health considerations, eating healthy food is a requirement even for a good set of teeth. The one thing that you have probably learned since childhood is to limit your sugar intake. So stay away eating too much candies, donuts, junk food, and similar food stuff if you want a healthy mouth, not just teeth.
Children with disabilities or other health impairments require assistance of adults to live to their fullest potential. Although childhood caries is not a typical disease when considering disabling chronic illnesses, it is becoming a global health crisis that affects children in many ways. According to the United States Surgeon General’s report from the US Department of Health and Human Services (2000), dental caries is stated to be the “most common chronic childhood disease of children aged 5 to 17 years and is five times more common than asthma and seven times more common than hay fever.” Childhood caries can severely affect a child’s quality of life in the areas of overall development, family relationships, community relationships, and educational challenges; the collaboration of parents and teachers is essential in treating and preventing childhood caries, not only in the United States, but also around the world.
In conclusion, its recommended that patients brush two-three times a day two minutes long to insure that most of the bacteria is removed from the teeth,gums, and tongue also. Flossing after every meal should also be done regularly because of left foods that get stuck between the teeth. There are many kinds of toothpaste, but not all contain fluorine. Its important that you chose on that does have fluorine because it rebuild tooth enamel and strengthen the tooth too.
Fluoride is most commonly known as the ingredient in mouthwash that is used to clean your teeth and mouth. What a lot of people don’t know is what fluoride is and what its purpose and function really is for. This is really important because some people may not know that fluoride is apart of our every day lives and plays an extremely important role in the development of our teeth. The way that fluoride is apart of every day life is that it is naturally and purposely put into drinking water which in some cases is a surprisingly controversial topic for some people.
Candy was my enemy. When I did eat an occasional piece of chocolate or a lollipop I'd brush my teeth right away. I wasted no time. Flossing and brushing were my shield and armor, my only sense of security in this frightening cavity battle. Sometimes, when I think back on all my dental visit drama, I wonder if my dentist planned this all out, if it was part of some elaborate scheme to save me from the ravages of tooth decay.
Getting rid of sticky, sugary foods and sweetened beverages helps to maintain a healthy environment in your mouth and reduce the risk of developing cavities and gingivitis. Try satisfying your sweet tooth cravings with natural forms of sugar like those gotten from fruit, and mix it with plain yogurt instead. The calcium in yogurt makes a major contribution to your smile by strengthening your teeth