10 Standard Dental Problems Children Confront
Childhood is a time of exploration, growth, and adventure. Unfortunately, the years of discovery occasionally result in dental problems. For example, walking down the stairs can result in a broken tooth or a speck of plaque resulting in a cavity.
Children’s dental problems are not different from adults except that their teeth are still in developmental stages. Children’s teeth are softer and younger than their permanent teeth. Dental infections, if left untreated because of poor tooth development besides misalignment, result in severe problems as the child grows.
Understanding the most common dental issues in children and their prevention is essential for parents to help their child help children prevent the problems. This article provides information on the ten standard dental issues with children and how to avoid them as best as possible.
Tooth Decay
Children are not proficient with brushing and flossing unless supervised. Unfortunately, they also have a sugar-rich diet making cavities a severe issue. In addition, the acid in dental plaque erodes the enamel, eventually wearing away the tooth. Parents supervising and helping children to brush their teeth until they develop the skills to do so assist children in brushing correctly and removing food particles, bacteria, and dental plaque from the teeth to prevent tooth decay. Children developing cavities need restorations with dental fillings with drilling to remove the decayed material and fill the hole with composite resin material.
Tooth Sensitivity
Sensitive teeth are dental problems that cause discomfort and distraction. The teeth can disrupt your child’s focus and everyday activities. Some sharp teeth include cavities, enamel erosion, teeth grinding, cracked or missing feelings, orthodontic treatment, and newly erupted permanent teeth. If your child has sensitive teeth, many therapies help reduce the discomfort with the children’s dentist in St Catherine’s. However, if the sensitivity results from a dental issue like a cavity, the child must be taken to the dentist to prevent the problem from worsening.
Dental Emergencies
Children might encounter dental emergencies at any time, similar to adults. For example, they might get impacted on the mouth when playing with siblings or in accidents causing them to fall from a bike or lose a tooth in severe circumstances. If your child loses a permanent tooth, do not hesitate to call Saint Catharine’s dentist for an emergency appointment but retrieve the lost tooth and place it in a milk container. The dentist can help replace your child’s tooth in its socket, allowing it to reattach to the roots by splinting it to the adjacent teeth.
Gum Disease
Gum disease doesn’t just affect adults; it also occurs in children and is relatively standard among them. Gingivitis is the precursor to gum disease making its presence felt by red, swollen, and slightly bleeding gums when brushing and flossing. Gum disease aggressiveness is higher in children who do not maintain appropriate dental hygiene. Gum disease or gingivitis is an entirely preventable condition if you take proper care of your child and supervise when they brush and floss. Gum disease also results from crooked and crowded teeth because children find it challenging to clean them and become victims of this severe problem.
Orthodontic Issues
Children having perfectly straight teeth without intervention is rare. Fortunately, many orthodontic treatments are available to help your child or teenager display straighter teeth and a beautiful smile. Orthodontic issues result from genetic problems when the size and shape of the jaw determine how your child’s teeth grow. Common orthodontic problems among children include underbites, overbites, open bites, and gapped teeth. You can prevent orthodontic issues in your child’s mouth by having them evaluated by six or seven by the dentist in St Catherine’s and seek early intervention if suggested to prevent needing orthodontic treatments later.
Thumb Sucking
Infants, toddlers and children accustomed to pacifier sucking resort to thumb sucking as a technique of relieving anxiety. The problem appears insignificant early but becomes a severe dental problem when the child becomes older. Extended thumb sucking can result in issues with the child’s teeth development, making it essential for parents to prevent the child from continuing the habit past the toddler stage. Thumb sucking results in an open bite needing orthodontic treatment because it makes it challenging for the child to chew and bite, besides causing speech problems.
Dental Anxiety
Dental anxiety affects everyone, including children, especially when it relates to dental visits. Dental anxiety makes it challenging to get your child to the dentist for routine dental exams and cleanings. Children can take the fear into adulthood to continue neglecting dental treatments. The optimal way to manage dental anxiety is to take the child to a pediatric dentist with experience working with children to help them understand why they shouldn’t fear dental visits. Pediatric dentists are also experienced incoming your child by providing minimal sedation if they are challenging to manage.
Teeth Grinding
Teeth grinding is an involuntary habit in adults and children alike. Most children overcome the problem as they age. However, some children might continue the practice to become affected by enamel erosion that results in tooth decay and sensitive teeth. Therefore parents must take the child to the pediatric dentist, who might recommend night guards to prevent the habit and safeguard the child’s teeth.
Halitosis
Halitosis, alternatively called lousy breath, affects everyone regardless of age. Unfortunately, chronic awful breath indicates a deeper root cause than having stinky foods. Halitosis results from mouth bacteria and can also be a health issue that needs attention from different medical professionals. The pediatric dentist is an excellent professional to detect whether your child has dental problems causing lousy breath or referring you and your child to another professional for an evaluation.
Tooth Loss
Children losing baby teeth might seem an exciting time. Unfortunately, some children don’t lose their primary or baby teeth because it refuses to fall out and cause discomfort in the child’s mouth. In such cases, it becomes essential to seek help from a pediatric dentist. However, if your child loses a tooth early, consult the pediatric dentist, who might recommend a space maintainer to function as a placeholder for the permanent teeth.
These are the ten common dental problems children confront. If your child has a similar issue, please do not hesitate to consult Girardi Dental, where the pediatric dentist ensures your child receives appropriate treatment to manage the problem.