| 1st Dental Visit |
| Does the pregnant woman's diet affect the child's teeth? |
Prevention of dental problems should ideally start during pregnancy. The pregnant woman should have wholesome and nutritious diet that would help in proper development of the growing foetus. The expectant mother should also have a diet that is rich in calcium to ensure the healthy development of the baby's bones and teeth. Good sources of calcium are cheese, milk, yogurt, leafy vegetables and dairy products. Good diet during pregnancy ensures to healthy teeth and bones in the child. |
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| Can medicines taken during pregnancy affect the teeth? |
There are certain medicines and antibiotics that should be avoided during pregnancy. These drugs can cause defective development of the developing foetus. Tetracycline antibiotics when consumed by pregnant women cause permanent brownish grey staining of the child's teeth.
Thus self-medication should be avoided during pregnancy and medicines taken after consultation with the physician. |
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| At what age should I first consult the dentist? |
It is a good idea to consult the dentist by six months of age when the first milk teeth are expected to emerge into the oral cavity. Regular visits to the dentist every 6 months will help in giving adequate preventive care to the child that will aid in preventing dental decay. If there are any cavities it is good to undertake the treatment at an early stage. These regular visits are advised even if you think the baby's teeth are healthy. These regular visits also helps the child get used to the idea of visiting the dentist before he needs any treatment to be administered. |
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| Why so early? What dental problems could a baby have? |
The most important reason is to begin a thorough prevention program. Dental problems can begin early. A big concern is Early Childhood Caries (also know as baby bottle tooth decay or nursing caries). Your child risks severe decay from using a bottle during naps or at night or when they nurse continuously from the breast.
The earlier the dental visit, the better the chance of preventing dental problems. Children with healthy teeth chew food easily, learn to speak clearly, and smile with confidence. Start your child now on a lifetime of good dental habits. |
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| What is nursing bottle caries? |
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This is a rampant form of dental caries involving several teeth in the mouth and affects those teeth which are generally considered resistant to dental decay.
Nursing bottle caries or rampant caries is usually associated with prolonged bottle feeding of sugar containing drinks such as milk and juices. They may occur due to bottle-feeding at bedtime or during sleep and lack of cleansing of the teeth thereafter.
Nursing caries can also occur due to prolonged on demand breast feeding at night due to lactose sugar present in the milk. |
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This form of dental decay affects many teeth and may be seen as marked discoloration of the teeth. In later stages the teeth may fracture. The child often experiences pain on brushing and eating cold or hot food substances |
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| How can I prevent tooth decay from a bottle or nursing? |
Encourage your child to drink from a cup as they approach their first birthday. Children should not fall asleep with a bottle. At-will nighttime breast-feeding should be avoided after the first primary (baby) teeth begins to erupt. Drinking juice from a bottle should be avoided. When juice is offered, it should be in a cup. |
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| What is dental decay? |
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Dental decay or dental caries as it is referred to is a disease affecting the teeth wherein they are destroyed by softening by microorganisms or germs that exist on and around the teeth. This destruction of the tooth structure occurs in the presence of the stagnated food particles. |
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| Why do teeth get decayed? |
Dental decay is the most prevalent decease affecting humanity. Teeth get decayed due to a combination of causes that include bad oral hygiene, stagnation of food on or around the teeth, presence of plaque on the tooth structure and the presence of caries causing microorganisms.
Food particles and microorganisms tend to stagnate in the deep pits and fissures found on the grinding surface of the teeth thereby predisposing to dental decay. In addition plaque and tartar may contribute to retention of particles and microbes close to the tooth structure. |
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| How to prevent tooth decay? |
| Prevention is always better than cure. The following factors help in prevention of caries. |
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Maintenance of good oral hygiene by regular brushing and use of interdental aids. |
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Diet is a very important consideration in dental decay. Sticky food and refined sugars are important factors predisposing to caries. Thus such foodstuff should be avoided. Children are advised to brush immediately after they consume such foodstuff. |
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The use of Fluorideted toothpaste markedly reduces the occurrence of dental decay. The dentist will advice you on the use of Fluorideted toothpastes. |
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In some children the grinding surface of the teeth tend to have very deep pits and grooves which predispose to stagnation of food and microbes. For such teeth the dentist may use appropriate sealants to reduce their depth. They are called pit and fissure sealants. |
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. Regular check up by the dentist to arrest caries that have just begun and for professional fluoride application. |
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