How does a child have milk cavities?

The article is consulted professionally by Specialist I Nguyen Trung Hau – Doctor of Molars – Department of Medical Examination and Internal Medicine – Share99 Da Nang International Health Hub.

Children who are devotees of confectionery, sweet foods and water with gas are also very susceptible to bacterial attacks that cause oral diseases, so the condition of children with milk cavities is now very common. Without timely and definitive treatment will cause the child pain, discomfort, nothing to eat and serious damage to health, comprehensive development.

At the 38th Dental Science and Technology Conference held in Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh city on 4th and 5th April 2016, Dr. Duangthip Duangporn (Faculty of Dentistry, University of Hong Kong) said: "If a child has early milk tooth decay without treatment, it will affect the child's height as well as IQ."

Currently, the number of children with milk tooth decay early is an alarming situation not only in Vietnam but also in many countries around the world. According to statistics, in the United States there is 23% of children with tooth decay, this figure in the UK is up to 28%, 51% in China, 57% in India and in South Africa is 57%.

Some scientific studies have explained that if the mother during pregnancy suffers from oral diseases such as periodtitis,gingivitis, it will increase the risk of premature birth by 2 times, which not only affects the development of the child's condition, but also causes the child to face a defect of tooth enamel (the enamel of the child is poorly mineral, prone to chipping when growing).

Therefore, the leading cause of milk cavities in children at an early age, even before the child grows milk teeth is the transmission of bacteria from mother to child when the child is still in the fetus and how to nourish and care after the baby is born.

On the other hand, children are very interested in sweet confectionery but have a bad sense of oral hygiene, therefore, it is very easy to be attacked by bacteria and cause milk cavities, currently, 2-year-olds with tooth decay or 4 years old have a lot of cavities, which is not uncommon, because, when children eat a lot of sweets without cleaning their teeth, it will cause food to stick to the teeth, facilitating bacteria to ferment sweet matter into harmful acids that adhere to the teeth and form cavities.

In principle, the milk teeth of the child have a much thinner enamel and ivory structure in adults, so the time when bacteria attack and develop into cavities will be very quick.

Therefore, if children tend to love sweet confectionery, water with gas without being supplemented with enough nutrients, substances that help protect the teeth well, it will make the young teeth weaker than usual and more susceptible to milk cavities.

In fact, there are many parents who think that the child has milk cavities that are nothing serious, because before anything, milk teeth will also be lost and replaced with permanent teeth, however, this is completely wrong, when the child has milk cavities, if not treated in time, it will:

• Milk teeth with worms will fall out prematurely, causing adult teeth to deviate and affect the structure of the child's teeth.
• 2-year-olds, 4-year-olds with milk cavities will affect the function of chewing, grinding food and not good for the digestive system, causing them to slow down development.
• In addition, milk teeth also play a role in the communication of the child, helping the child to learn more standard pronunciation in the process of learning to speak, if the milk teeth are deep will limit the child's linguistic development.

Many parents do not find out and do not know what todo when the child has toothache , which is really not good, causing the child to suffer from soreness and negatively affect health.

In fact, milk cavities will make the child very uncomfortable and potentially spread to the next teeth or arise many other dangerous oral diseases. They can also affect the teeth permanently growing later, making adult teeth more susceptible to deviations, slow growth, inality or causing jawbone destruction … Because of the above dangers, when the child has milktooth decay, parents can apply treatment with a number of measures such as:

• In case the child has budding milk tooth decay, it is possible to use tooth decay medicine for children dotted with worms to disinfect and relieve pain for the baby. Based on the condition of the child, the dentist will decide whether to remove the cavities or extensive holes. However, this technique needs to be carried out at a medical address with guaranteed and reputable facilities.
• In case the child has severe milk cavities, it is necessary to go to the dental centers for doctors to remove the cavities and overcome the worms by welding the deep hole fillings, restoring chewing and aesthetic features for the teeth.

If the child has too severe cavities that cannot be treated with dental remedies, he will be prescribed to remove the cavity so as not to affect the gums and spread it to other teeth.

During the period of children from 2 to 4 years of age, parents can prevent milk tooth decay in young children by applying the following measures:

• During pregnancy, it is recommended to use foods beneficial to the baby's tooth enamel such as crabs, snails, fish, oysters, shrimps, milk … Limit stress, stress.
• When a newborn baby grows milk teeth, clean the baby's teeth daily with warm saline to help clean the plaque on the teeth and not let the bacteria attack causing cavities.
• Give your child regular sunbathing to combat rickets and limit their underdeve developed jaw bones, prevent teeth from growing out of place.
• Limit your child's use of sweet drinks in the evening, when they are 1 year old, they only give filtered water before bedtime.
• Do not allow your baby to keep food and drink in his mouth as this can cause conditional contact with the child's teeth and cause milk cavities.
• When a child has milk tooth decay, it is necessary to take the child to the dental clinic for timely treatment by the doctor.

Dr. Nguyen Trung Hau has more than 10 years of experience working in the department of Molars, Dr Hau especially has a lot of experience in facial surgery, cosmetic dentistry, implantation. Currently a Dental Doctor at Share99 Da Nang International Health Hub's Interdisciplinary Clinic.

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