Your Child’s Oral Care
Common Problems
Cavities/Tooth Decay
Your children’s teeth are amazing. They’re tough, perfectly shaped, and even come with their very own defense mechanism — a protective layer of enamel. However, children’s enamel is not as strong as adult enamel.
When we eat food or drinks containing sugar, the bacteria on our teeth turn it into acid, which attacks the enamel. Over time, saliva neutralizes this acid, but if your children eat a lot of sugary foods or drink sugary drinks, their teeth will be exposed to more acid, more often — that’s when teeth can start to decay.
If decay is left unchecked, a hole forms below the surface and eventually the surface will collapse and a cavity is formed. In the early stages, this won’t cause your child any pain, and the dentist should be able to see it and stop it from developing into a bigger hole. This is another reason why regular dentist visits are so important.
If the cavity isn’t stopped, it can spread into the softer dentin layer that lies underneath the enamel, causing toothache. In the worst case scenario, the cavity will continue to spread through the soft center of the tooth, which can be very painful and may mean the whole tooth has to be removed.
Remineralization
To help protect your children's teeth from decay, it’s good to limit how much sugar they have and how often they have it. To give their teeth the best start in life, you might want to steer clear of cookies, cakes and sugary drinks on all but the most special of occasions.
Encourage them to stick to vegetables, cheese, milk and water between meals. If you offer them fruit juices, they should be diluted 1 part juice to 10 parts water and given in a cup with a straw.
Fluoride toothpastes are also important because they can help the tooth remineralize — that is, help prevent the hole from forming by replacing lost minerals in the enamel.