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 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
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.
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 ...
The first solution for tooth cavities is visiting the dentist and filling the tooth cavities with dentistry. However, it is possible to remove tooth cavities at home in a natural way.
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.
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.
If you’re not familiar with plaque then allow us to enlighten you. Plaque is a sticky coating that finds it’s way onto your teeth. It forms constantly and without the correct oral hygiene routine, it will continue to build up leading to acid attacks and eventual
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)
Imagine having to spend half your fortune on correcting your teeth.”Tooth decay was a perennial national problem that meant a mouthful of silver for patients, and for dentists a pocketful of gold.” (Wallis, 17) If patients don’t take care of their teeth, many issues can start to appear later in their life. Some patients are not knowledgeable of the correct procedures toward keeping a healthy smile. In order to keep a healthy smile patients must be better informed about the knowledge to achieve that success and also maintain.
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.
Ever since I was a little kid, I have always been intrigued by teeth, which is unusual for most people, but enticing to me. I have always been thinking about how to keep my teeth healthy and what to do to prevent cavities, gum disease, and tooth decay. My first recollection of oral surgery was when I was ten years old after I visited my uncle’s doctors office with my mother. My mother was at his office due to an infection in her gums, where she paid a large amount of money for a simple task. After that, I was so confused as to how he healed my mother's pain in less than an hour.
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)
Humans only get one set of adult teeth after losing all of their primary teeth therefore, it is important to take care of them. “Dental caries: Strategies to control this preventable disease” is an article written by Rugg-Gunn, Andrew presents several reasons why dental decay is a widespread disease. Rugg-Gunn cites that the main cause of dental decay is lack of fluoride, poor diet, bacteria from plaque, and sugars. Based on this evidence, Rugg-Gunn concludes that “dental caries can be prevented” (Rugg-Gunn128), but there is no evidence of stopping the disease from happening. While Rugg-Gunn raises a revolving problem around the world with human oral decay he however, does not have a good approach on what decay really is.
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.
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