When and why should our kids’ baby teeth be checked and treated if they end up losing them?
Parents often ask themselves a lot of question about baby teeth. That’s why doctor Pamela Parolin, Pedodontist of the Centro Ortodontico Vicentino – Dentisti Vignato, answer our doubts.
Actually also with baby teeth we must intervene because they need treatment in order to avoid unpleasant painful situations and tooth abscesses. If the caries appear and deepen can reach the dental pulp and cause pain as if they would be on permanent teeth.
Sometimes kids have a hard time chewing where they have “small holes”, especially because the food squeezes in and pushes on the gum between one tooth and another.
When do they lose the last baby tooth?
If front baby teeth are replaced by permanent ones around the age of 6-8, back molars stay in the mouth much longer (until the age of 11-12). This make their care necessary because, if they were lost prematurely due to caries, the space necessary for permanent premolars to come out could be reduced little by little and cause a malocclusion (wrong closure of the dental arches).
When should your kid see the dentist for the first time?
The best age is between 2 and 3 years. The first visit is a very important moment, the first stage of a path which is a gradual approach to the orthodontic world with its peculiar tools, smells and noises typical of this environment.
It is advisable to have a fun approach, before having experimented pain nor dental problems.
In order to create an “orthodontic awareness”, establishing a relationship of trust between the young patient and the Pedodontist is considered essential.
This eliminates feelings of anxiety and fear as much as possible, feelings which kids could remember during adulthood.
During check-ups at an early age, the Pedodontist gives advice on hygiene and food habits, any fluoride products or specific toothpastes and information on bad habits which could compromise normal occlusion.
The goal of pedodontics is indeed to prevent carious pathologies, malocclusions and precociously diagnose any problems.
It is shown how easier it is to treat small caries in the initial phase, both for the kid and the dentist, as it prevents tooth decay from spreading to nearby baby teeth and it significantly lowers the risk that abscesses, infections or painful experiences occur.
What products can we use to strengthen the dental enamel?
Some products can be used at home and others are specific for outpatient use: fluoride or chlorhexidine (antibacterial substance) varnishes which, if periodically applied on baby teeth, help make the dental surface more resistant to acid attacks.
Moreover, it is possible to do specific ozone treatments to sterilize dentinal tubules and start a process of enamel remineralization.
