Causes of tooth decay in children: Five ways to prevent it

What causes tooth decay in children? It is reported that children are a group with a high incidence of tooth decay, and if you want to prevent tooth decay, you must first do a good job of preventing tooth decay.

Tooth decay is very common in life, and most of them occur in children. Tooth decay in children is very harmful to the mouth, so do you know how to prevent it?

Causes of tooth decay in children

1. Bacterial factors

Bacteria play a leading role in the occurrence and progression of tooth decay. In recent years, it has been internationally recognized that caries is caused by bacterial diseases. There are many species of bacteria, the most important ones being certain Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli. These bacteria mix with mucin and food debris in saliva and adhere firmly to tooth surfaces and pits and fissures.This adhesive is called plaque or plaque. A large number of bacteria in the plaque produce acid, causing decalcification and dissolution of the enamel surface underneath the plaque. Clinical studies have shown that children with a lot of plaque in the mouth also have more tooth decay.

2. Dietary factors

Diet plays an important role in the formation of tooth decay. Food contains a large number of carbohydrates and sugars, which not only provide energy for the life and activity of bacteria in the plaque, but also produce organic acids through glycolysis through bacterial metabolism, and the acid remains on the tooth surface and pits and fissures for a long time, so that the enamel is demineralized and destroyed, and then some bacteria dissolve the protein to form cavities. There are many caries-causing sugars, the most important of which is sucrose. During the period of tooth development, nutrition determines the biochemical structure of tooth tissue, and teeth with good calcification have high caries resistance. If there are insufficient mineral salts, major vitamins and trace elements such as calcium, phosphorus, vitamins B1, D and fluoride in the food, the caries resistance of the teeth is low, which causes the condition of tooth decay.

3. Dental factors

The morphology, structure and position of teeth are clearly related to the incidence of tooth decay. The pits and fissures on the biting surface of the teeth are defects left during development, and the deep pits and fissures are easy to retain cells and food debris, and are not easy to remove, which is easy to induce tooth decay. Teeth with insufficient mineralization, especially insufficient calcification, have low density of enamel and dentin, low caries resistance, and are prone to tooth decay. The amount of fluoride in the mineralized structure of the tooth, although small, is important for enhancing the caries resistance of the tooth. If you have an appropriate amount of fluoride in your teeth, you are less likely to suffer from tooth decay. The structure and calcification of baby teeth and young permanent teeth are not mature enough, so they are susceptible to cariogenic factors and have a high rate of caries.

How to prevent tooth decay in children

1. Pay attention to children's oral hygiene, especially after each meal. Brush your teeth in the morning and evening, and rinse your mouth after meals.

2. When children learn to gargle, it is recommended to use children's fluoride toothpaste (generally after 3 years old). But a small pea-sized amount of toothpaste is enough for each brushing, as children in this age group have the potential for fluoride to swallow.

Paediatric dentistry recommends that the child's first oral examination should be done between the child's 6 and 12 months of age, as infant caries are unlikely to occur at this time. The first oral examination will play a positive and important role in preventing the occurrence of caries in infants and young children. Parents should choose a qualified dental medical institution to have their teeth checked, ask a doctor to help diagnose the child's tooth eruption, and assess the risk of caries. Thereafter, the teeth are checked every six months.

4. Advocate breastfeeding, feed regularly after tooth eruption, gradually reduce the number of night feedings, it is recommended to wean at night for 6 months, and stop using the bottle after 18 months. Prolonged bottle feeding, longer than the time it takes for a normal child to transition from bottle abstinence to solid foods, can lead to earlier, rampant caries.After tooth eruption, you can feed 1~2 mouthfuls of warm boiled water to clean your mouth before sleeping at night.

5. Don't get into the habit of sleeping with a bottle or nipple in your mouth. When your child goes to bed or at night with a bottle in his mouth and milk flowing out around his or her upper front teeth, these carbohydrate-containing fluids provide an excellent medium for acid-producing bacteria; In addition, the saliva flow during sleep is reduced, and the self-cleaning effect is weakened, which leads to the occurrence of bottle caries.