Harm of children's tooth decay

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Nguyen Trung Hau - Doctor of Odonto-Stomatology - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Da Nang International General Hospital.
According to research, over 85% of Vietnamese children suffer from caries in their baby teeth and with potentially larger impacts behind that are related to children's lives as well as their ability to communicate confidently.

1. Tooth decay is the most common disease in children

Dental caries is actually the destruction of inorganic calcified structures (calcium crystals) of dentin and enamel, creating holes on the tooth surface caused by bacteria.

2. Harm of children's tooth decay

It is most noticeable that when children have tooth decay, they will feel pain, sensitivity, difficulty eating even when drinking water. Children will often cry, have trouble sleeping and lose weight and malnourishment.
Tooth decay also affects digestive organs such as the stomach. The state of tooth decay can also cause dangerous complications such as inflammation of the jawbone, inflammation and abscesses of the soft part of the mouth... requiring long and expensive treatment.
If the situation of tooth decay is worse, inflammation around the teeth, cellulitis, lymphadenitis, and pulpitis spreads and causes infection, fever, and hemorrhage in children. Even complications of tooth decay in children also cause meningitis, which is very easy for children to die.
Once the infection around the tooth root, it can cause the child to have disorders in the temporomandibular joint, headaches, neck fatigue, disorders in the heart, kidneys... Along with that, tooth decay in children also makes breathing difficult. It has a very unpleasant smell, making children afraid to contact and have low self-esteem when talking.
Long-term tooth decay, if not treated, will cause children to have tooth abscesses, broken teeth, tooth loss, once a tooth is lost, it causes inconveniences in chewing, pronunciation, bone sockets are lost, when growing up will affect the child's face.
If tooth decay is not detected in time, it penetrates deeply into the pulp to destroy the pulp, it can cause pulp rot. Once the pulp has been destroyed, it cannot be restored, so it is imperative to remove the decayed tooth.
For baby teeth, if extracted too soon before the tooth replacement period, it may affect the development of permanent teeth later (retarded or misaligned). If a permanent tooth is decayed and must be extracted, there will be no other teeth to replace it. In order to keep the aesthetics, it is necessary to plant dentures, which costs a lot of money.
In addition, once the caries gets worse, parents will spend a lot of money to treat their children's teeth.

3. How to cure tooth decay in children

Tooth decay in children causes negative effects on children's activities and later development. Therefore, parents need to always know how to care and consciously teach children how to take care of their teeth from an early age.
Should take care of children's teeth from the time the first baby teeth erupt, use a soft-bristled brush, toothpaste containing Flour, mouthwash, and floss suitable for children to prevent tooth decay.
Prevent the harmful effects of tooth decay in children with a scientific oral care plan and a reasonable diet. When tooth decay needs to go to the dentist immediately for examination and early treatment to avoid spreading to other teeth. So what to do when a child's teeth are decayed?
3.1 When the tooth decay is still new. To have good teeth, the best way is to prevent disease. If the baby tooth is newly discovered, parents need to take the child to the dental clinic for treatment. Often the dentist will use a filling to prevent further decay. If the baby's baby teeth are decayed, if they are filled early, they will keep all the teeth on the jaw, ensuring the child's digestive process works effectively.

3.2 When the tooth decay is large When the bacteria develop to a late stage, forming a large hole in the child's teeth, even eating most of the child's teeth, do not rush to the dentist to remove the rest of that tooth decay. Baby teeth, if extracted too soon, will affect the jawbone and disorient the permanent teeth to grow up later.
When the permanent teeth come in, the root of the baby teeth will disappear, causing the baby teeth to loosen and fall out. Extracting baby teeth too early will cause the permanent teeth to grow out of place later on, which most affects the 6th permanent molars, causing the 6th teeth to grow forward and squeeze in the place of other permanent teeth. after that.
The best treatment method is to preserve and keep until the age of replacement teeth when the permanent teeth erupt to replace them. Parents should consult carefully with the Dentist to have treatment measures to avoid causing pain to the child, and at the same time to limit the risk of harm later.

4. Prevention of tooth decay in children

Teach children the habit of self-cleaning their teeth, brushing their teeth at least twice a day. Limit your child's intake of foods that contain a lot of sugar. Children who are in the teething stage need to be properly cared for, supplemented with adequate nutrients to keep their teeth strong. Parents should take their children for regular dental check-ups every 6 months so that abnormalities can be detected and treated promptly. Complications of tooth decay in children, whether severe or mild, cause adverse effects on children's activities and development.
BSCK I Nguyen Trung Hau has more than 10 years of experience working in the field of Odonto-Stomatology, Dr. Hau especially has a lot of experience in maxillofacial surgery, cosmetic dentistry, Implant implants. Currently, he is a Doctor of Odonto-Stomatology at the Inter-specialty Clinic of General Internal Medicine, Vinmec International General Hospital, Da Nang.

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