Treatment of caries and filling cavities in deciduous teeth

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Until recently, many parents believed that milk teeth do not need to be treated because they will fall out soon anyway. Unfortunately, this is a myth that can seriously harm little patients. Caries of primary teeth should be removed and the resulting cavities should be properly filled. How does caries develop on primary teeth and how is it treated?

Caries of milk teeth – causes

Caries of primary teeth is a disease that affects many of the youngest patients. Milk teeth hurt as much as permanent teeth, so this problem cannot be neglected. Caries of milk teeth is caused by many external factors, but the most important are:

1. tooth susceptibility to caries. This susceptibility results from poor-quality dentition and poor calcification of the tooth tissues;
2. bacterial plaque that settles on the teeth. This plaque is rich in acid-forming bacteria that initiate the process of caries development on the child’s teeth;
3. food ingredients or substrates, i.e. a carbohydrate medium for bacteria to produce cariogenic acids;
4. frequent consumption of products that contribute to the formation of tooth decay, such as sweet drinks, sweets and snacks.

The factors mentioned above lead to the demineralization of tooth enamel, i.e. its decalcification. Then the dentin is exposed, which is much less calcified than the enamel and a hole forms in the tooth, it is called a carious lesion.

The correct bacterial flora of the oral cavity allows you to maintain the LACTIBIANE Buccodental Probiotic for oral cavity infections and caries, which supports the prevention and treatment of cavities and inflammations of the oral cavity.

What is worth knowing about caries? Who is particularly at risk of carious lesions? Check: Caries – who is particularly at risk?

What is decay in primary teeth and what does it look like

Caries on primary teeth can occur just as often as in the case of permanent teeth. In the first stage of caries formation, a white, matte stain appears on deciduous teeth, which stands out against the glassy surface of the tooth. In the next stages of caries development, the stain becomes rough and gradually darkens. At the very beginning, the decay stain is only on the enamel, which means it is reversible. Therefore, it is very important to react quickly and visit the dentist’s office. In the case of a carious spot, the dentist will perform a remineralization procedure and apply a special preparation containing fluoride to the teeth. A defect that occurs only within the enamel is called surface caries. The caries that affected the enamel and dentin is average caries. On the other hand, caries that reached the nerve very close to the nerve is deep caries, which is very painful during the examination and when eating or drinking.

Take care of your child’s healthy teeth and buy him a sonic toothbrush for children 6+ Vitammy Dino, which is comfortable to use and helps in proper oral hygiene. If your child is younger, he or she can also use a sonic toothbrush. Try the Sonic toothbrush for milk teeth for children 3+ VITAMMY Smile available on Medonet Market. For older children, we recommend the Sonic toothbrush 8 years + VITAMMY splash, which has several operating modes, thanks to which it supports oral hygiene even more.

Find out more about milk teeth. Read: Milk teeth

Caries of milk teeth – stages of development

Decay of primary teeth is very fast, so it is very important that parents react quickly. Caries that have attacked the enamel penetrate into the dentin very quickly. Then, the pulp, i.e. the nerve in the tooth, is drawn into the disease process. Decay of milk teeth usually occurs at a very early age. Flowering caries or bottle caries are frequent cases of dental caries.

The development of caries may be inhibited by ApaCare Liquid Remineralizing Mouthwash for Children and Adults. It fills micro-cavities and protects the enamel against the harmful effects of external factors.

How to prevent tooth decay? Read: Tooth decay and its prevention

Early caries in milk teeth

Many parents expect the first, pearl teeth of their little ones. Unfortunately, in many cases, it turns out that the teeth are attacked by caries right after the tooth erupts or shortly afterwards. This caries first appears on the incisors and then begins to spread to the next groups of teeth in the maxilla and mandible. The course of early caries is very quick and the entire tooth crown is destroyed in a short time. In such cases, the child first suffers from persistent toothache, then gangrene appears and the pulp of the tooth dies. Early caries is acute and uninhibited, even when dental treatment is initiated. Early tooth decay most often affects those children who teethe earlier than their peers. Early caries is also the result of systemic factors, especially in the pathological course of pregnancy, inadequate maternal nutrition or prematurity. Early age caries can also be caused by poor socioeconomic conditions, stress or various diseases that the infant suffered from. In addition, early caries is affected by feeding a child with sweetened milk or giving him sweetened teats or other teethers that could damage the sensitive tooth enamel.

Do you have a child who is just learning to brush his teeth on his own? Buy him a sonic toothbrush for children 3+ Vitammy Little Dino, which is comfortable to use and gentle on teeth and gums. Discover the full range of various types of sonic toothbrushes for children and adults. To clean the teeth, your child should use an appropriate toothpaste that will suit their age and needs. Reach for Baby Strawberry Gel Toothpaste with organic aloe vera and mallow without fluoride Anthyllis Baby. The paste inhibits the development of caries and is intended for the care of milk teeth.

Another important case to discuss is the occurrence of so-called bottle caries. This disease affects about 15% of infants and children up to 3 years of age. Bottle caries occurs in children who feed on a bottle with a teat for a long time. The formation of bottle caries is also influenced by cups with a mouthpiece, from which the child drinks all day at any time. Especially if these cups contain sweetened milk, sweetened juices or vitamin C mixed with sweeteners. It is also unhealthy for a child to fall asleep with a bottle or a pacifier, because saliva secretion is significantly reduced at night, which is a natural protection against acids that demineralise tooth enamel. It is not uncommon during a medical interview that the child’s parents also have untreated caries, which causes bacteria to be transferred from the parents’ mouth to the child’s mouth. Therefore, when suspecting caries in the mother or father, one should refrain from licking the teat or spoon, and from kissing the baby on the mouth.

In order to prevent the appearance of caries in a child, it is worth ordering a special toothpaste intended for the care and hygiene of milk teeth, eg ELMEX Junior – toothpaste for children.

Find out how to convince your child to care for their teeth. Read: How to teach a child to care for his teeth?

Filling cavities in deciduous teeth – teeth ozonation

Caries treatment of primary teeth is often associated with the pain associated with the need to drill a carious lesion. Nowadays, however, there are other, less painful methods of caries treatment. One of them is teeth ozonation. Ozonation is a modern method of treating early caries lesions on primary teeth. By means of ozonation, it is possible to remove decay in small cavities or to use it as a method supporting traditional drilling. Ozone is a gas that breaks down very quickly into peroxide radicals. Radicals, in turn, show a very strong bactericidal and virucidal effect. Ozone has been used for years to accelerate wound healing, while dentists have been using this gas to treat caries relatively recently. After ozone is applied to teeth affected by caries, about 99% of bacteria attacking the dentin die. Teeth ozonation is a quick and safe procedure. Ozonation takes from 20 to 60 seconds. During ozonation, the tooth is wrapped with a silicone cap, thanks to which the ozone goes directly to the sick area. After ozonation, the tooth is covered with a liquid that prevents the further growth of bacteria. The cost of ozonizing one tooth ranges from PLN 70 to PLN 90.

Find out more about ozone in medicine! Check: Ozone therapy – oxygen and ozone in the fight for health and beauty

Cavities in milk teeth – laser caries removal

Carious cavities can also be treated with a laser. This type of treatment involves irradiating those tooth tissues that have been diseased. When the tooth has been properly cleaned, the cavity is filled with material. Laser treatment is very effective because the light beam penetrates the tooth and completely removes the caries. At the same time, during lasering, the tooth is disinfected and prepared for the filling. Additionally, the laser method can accurately examine where the carious lesion is located. The moment the laser beam encounters a carious lesion, fluorescence is created, which allows for the precise determination of the size of the caries and its location. Thanks to the laser, the dentist can determine which caries we are dealing with and what treatment should be implemented. One of the few disadvantages of laser caries treatment of deciduous teeth is the cost of this procedure. Treatment of one sick milk tooth costs about PLN 200.

Learn about other ways to remove caries without drilling. Check: No drilling?

Filling cavities in deciduous teeth – colored fillings

Dental cavities should always be filled with an appropriate material. For the youngest patients, dentists offer their parents colorful fillings to compensate children for the time spent in the dentist’s chair. Color seals are durable light-cured composite fillings, i.e. those that are also used in adults. The fillings for milk teeth are tailored to their needs. Such seals, for example, gradually release fluoride, which strengthens the tooth structure, while reducing the susceptibility to the redevelopment of carious lesions. Colorful seals are produced by many companies, brands such as Twinky Star and Flow Color are known. The child can choose the color of the seal. You can choose between blue, white, pink, green, purple, black, orange, yellow and red seals. Sometimes it is possible to supplement the selected color with glitter.

Learn about other types of fillings that will fill the cavities in your teeth. Read: Seal

Caries of primary teeth and lapping

Tooth lapping is otherwise known as impregnation. It is one of the methods of treating cavities in deciduous teeth. The lapping procedure consists in soaking milk teeth with a special bactericidal agent. Usually, silver nitrate is used for lapping teeth. Apart from bactericidal properties, this compound strengthens the tooth structure. The lapping procedure does not eliminate carious lesions, but prevents their further development and spread. Lapisetting is used when traditional treatment and filling of cavities cannot be performed. One such case is the aforementioned bottle caries. If the cavities are too deep, an ordinary filling could fall out of them, therefore, in order to inhibit the process of caries development, dentists usually suggest lapping milk teeth. Lapisizing milk teeth has its supporters and opponents. The advantages of lapping are:

1. the possibility of performing the procedure at a very early age;
2. inhibition of caries in the youngest children;
3. it is not necessary to remove prematurely milk teeth;
4. the procedure is painless and short.

Opponents of primary teeth lapping indicate the disadvantages of this procedure:

1. black coloring of milk teeth due to the impregnating substance;
2. replacing the impregnation with another compound makes the treatment less effective.

Remember to clean your child’s teeth properly. On his own, he may not be able to reach every nook and cranny of his mouth, so you should help him out a bit. You will need the Neno Denti electronic toothbrush for children, which you can buy at a favorable price at Medonet Market. It is also worth introducing children to the habit of flossing their teeth. For this purpose, we recommend Sweet Orange Georganics natural dental floss for children,

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