Why are children prone to tooth decay? Four tips to help you get rid of tooth decay

Children and adolescents are particularly prone to tooth decay, and some children have not yet changed their teeth, and their baby teeth have been seriously decayed, so how to effectively prevent tooth decay?

Why children are prone to tooth decay

First of all, because many children and adolescents still have baby teeth, and baby teeth are less calcified than permanent teeth, the surface is not as hard as permanent teeth, and the resistance to bacterial corrosion is also poor.

Secondly, because children often like to eat sweets, there are more carbohydrates for bacteria to use, and children are not easy to develop the habit of brushing their teeth regularly, if the oral cleaning work is not timely or incorrect, food residues are more likely to remain in the mouth, especially sticking to the tooth surface and plugging between the teeth, which provides conditions for bacteria to produce acid and destroy teeth.

According to the investigators' statistics, primary molars and permanent molars have the highest chance of dental caries, followed by bicuspids. Because these teeth have more grooves, they are more likely to store food debris and bacteria, and they are not easy to rinse when rinsing. As a result of their long-term retention, the local acidity increases, and the dentin calcium acutes begins in the groove fossa.

In addition, some people have poor calcification of their teeth and abnormal morphological development; Some children's baby teeth fall out too early or too late, and the position of the permanent teeth that replace them is out of order. The third molars in the mouth are often tilted due to insufficient eruption position, and the gap between them and the second molars is increased, and the chance of tooth decay is also more.

For teeth, the chances of tooth decay in different parts of the tooth are not the same. The adjacent surfaces of two teeth are susceptible to tooth decay. This is due to the fact that the gap between the two teeth adjacent to each other is not easy to clean, and there is a lot of food residue accumulation, and the local acidity is high.

Four tips to help you get rid of tooth decay

1. Remove plaque

Without plaque, there is no tooth decay. We can remove plaque by brushing, flossing, etc., and eliminate the microenvironment in which tooth decay occurs. However, since the oral cavity is one of the body's four major bacterial reservoirs, bacteria re-assemble on the surface of the tooth and form cariogenic mature plaque again 8 hours after removal.Therefore, we need to brush our teeth at least twice a day to control plaque to a caries-free level.

2. Reduce the frequency of sugar

Sugar is the raw material for bacteria to break down and produce acid, and under normal circumstances, once the acid is formed, it takes about half an hour for saliva to remove or neutralize it to a level where it cannot corrode the teeth. Therefore, snacking will continue to deliver "ammunition" to the plaque, so that the concentration of acid in the plaque that can corrode the teeth is always maintained, and promote the development of tooth decay. Since carbohydrates, like protein and fat, are essential nutrients for the human body, it is impossible for us not to consume them, so it is important to reduce the frequency of intake and improve the way we consume them. After eating sweets, rinse your mouth or chew chewing gum containing xylitol in time to promote the scavenging effect of saliva on acid.

3. Check your teeth regularly

Dental caries has the characteristics of concealment and excavation, and there are no special symptoms in the early stage of surface integrity, which can only be detected by professional examination or even X-rays, so regular examination is very important for early detection of caries. Since baby teeth are very susceptible to caries, children before the age of 12 should have a check-up every 6 months to find small holes and repair them in time to prevent caries from endangering the pulp and periapical tissues. In general, it should be checked once a year, and if there is a high risk of caries, such as poor dental quality or too little saliva, it should be checked every 3-6 months according to the doctor's instructions.

4. Use fluoride

Fluorine has been proven to prevent caries for more than 100 years and has been shown to be effective all over the world. Fluoride for personal use is mainly fluoride toothpaste and fluoride mouthwash. The fluoride in toothpaste can inhibit the growth of bacteria and, more importantly, enhance the acid resistance of teeth. Brushing with fluoride toothpaste is the simplest, most cost-effective way to prevent caries while removing plaque and enhancing the tooth's resistance to caries. For those who are at high risk of caries, such as loss of salivary gland function, dental professionals may need to apply a high concentration of fluoride to their teeth, or use them in addition to fluoride-containing mouthwashes.