How to stop decay in milk teeth - dental advice

According to statistics, caries of milk teeth today occurs in every third child. Even children from 1 to 3 years old are susceptible to the disease. The main catch is that parents often do not pay attention to dark spots, because permanent ones should replace milk teeth. However, the peculiarity of the structure of milk teeth is such that caries develops in them very rapidly. In just a couple of months, an inconspicuous speck can develop into pulpitis with acute pain and fever. In such a situation, the tooth has to be treated with anesthesia, and this is not at all useful for the baby. How to "capture" the disease at an early stage and stop caries in milk teeth, our experts told.

Why treat a child's milk teeth

Caries of milk teeth can damage the rudiments of permanent teeth / istockphoto.com

Not everyone decides to treat baby teeth for a child. Some parents think that "bad" baby teeth are a temporary problem. Some people are scared to think about the baby's reaction to the drill, and they postpone the visit to the dentist for an “older” one. Someone had a negative experience of visiting a children's "dentist", while someone thinks that dentists deliberately impose expensive services on temporary teeth. The reasons may be different, but the result is the same - more than half of the clients of pediatric dentistry get there with

“Baby teeth should serve a child up to 10 years old,” says Ehsan Yousefian, dentist at the KIDS dental Center for Pediatric Dentistry. - They have important functions: holding space for a permanent tooth, participating in the development of speech and occlusion, aesthetics. In addition, milk teeth, like permanent teeth, have nerves, roots and canals. And they can hurt just as much as permanent ones. Even more - because of the loose structure of the milk tooth, caries develops very quickly, and in a few months it can reach the nerve. The tooth hurts, the cheek swells, the temperature rises: inflammation develops, which can damage the rudiment of a permanent tooth. "

How to recognize caries in a baby tooth

It is necessary to see the child regularly to the dentist from an early age / istockphoto.com

A child with a toothache is not easy to seat in a dental chair. Therefore, all dentists insist on prevention. If you regularly show a healthy child to a doctor, he will develop a perception that a dentist is not a big deal. Well, the doctor, in turn, will be able to see the problem at the initial stage and stop its development without a drill.

“There are three stages of caries,” explains Miroshnichenko, a pediatric dentist and a private doctor. - Initially, small white spots appear on the teeth, which darken over time, acquiring a brown color. Medium caries - the appearance of an opening at this place (carious cavity). There it hurts from sweets, the cavity is gradually growing. Deep caries is what parents call "black teeth." The enamel and a significant part of the dentin are affected; without treatment, sooner or later, nerve inflammation (pulpitis) will begin. "

How to stop decay in milk teeth

Painless procedures can stop caries in milk teeth / istockphoto.com

Teeth spots are usually not drilled. “Coating teeth with different solutions can often stop the development of caries,” notes Elena Miroshnichenko. - The most common procedures are silvering (applying a solution with silver nitrate to the affected tooth) and fluoridation (applying a substance with fluoride ions). Also clinics offer remineralization (restoration of the enamel structure with a paste with fluorine, calcium and phosphorus). "

Silver plating, as the oldest way to combat initial caries, is still popular with dentists, despite its shortcomings.

“The low efficiency of this procedure has been scientifically proven. Silver has an antibacterial effect, but it does not affect caries (especially if it has already gone deeper), ”

Moreover, after silvering, the teeth turn black. “Firstly, it’s ugly and the child can be teased,” continues Eskhan Yousefian. - Secondly, a black tooth complicates the doctor's further diagnosis of the degree of carious lesions. To slow down the development of caries, it is better to use fluoridation. Saturation of tooth enamel with fluoride ions helps well in the initial stages of the carious process. " It is recommended to fluoride milk teeth from the age of three, but according to some indications it is possible even at an earlier age.

Which filling is best for milk teeth

The best fillings for milk teeth from photopolymer materials / istockphoto.com

Capturing the initial degree of caries on time and treating the tooth with a fluoride solution is the most painless solution to the problem. But the doctor cannot promise that the process of tooth damage will stop. “We need to observe the dynamics: if caries continues to develop, treatment and placement of a filling is necessary,” warns Eskhan Yousefian.

Here parents often face a choice: what kind of filling should be placed on the child, white or colored, light or traditional cement? Only a doctor can decide which filling is best for each particular case. But he is obliged to voice the decision to the parents, and they, in turn, can refuse the proposed option.

“Today, fillings made of photopolymer (or photocomposite) materials are considered the best way to fill milk teeth,” says Eskhan Yousefian. - They are sealed, aesthetic, and will serve the child, provided they are correctly positioned before the physiological change of the tooth. The only drawback of these seals is the rather lengthy process of setting, because the material hardens only if it is illuminated with a polymerization lamp. And you need to put in little by little in order to model the filling exactly according to the shape of the tooth and the size of the carious cavity. "

 Glass ionomer cements are also used for filling milk teeth. However, they have a number of significant disadvantages. “They shrink and can wear off over time,” says Eskhan Yousefian. - In addition, in comparison with photopolymer fillings, they are short-lived, sometimes they can break off. But even the smallest gap between the filling and the tooth is the reason for the occurrence of repeated caries, already under the filling. "

Colored fillings are not suitable in every case, although for some children this is a good motivation to “fix teeth”. “Such fillings do not adhere well to the tooth tissues,” comments Miroshnichenko. - Because of this, they often split off, or even fall out altogether. The only rational use of colored fillings is possible in combination with photocomposite fillings for the child's interest in the treatment process. Then they are applied in a thin layer to the chewing surface. "

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