Early Treatment Of Baby's Dental Caries

It is difficult to believe, but a fact, that thousands of babies develop dental caries in any given year. If untreated, this early childhood caries can develop into a more serious problem. It is absolutely important that proper dental hygiene practices are established early on to avoid dental problems.
When the baby is above three months of age and under eight months, the first tooth usually appears. And as the other teeth start coming out, the most routinely affected are the four upper teeth. The lower rows of teeth and the back teeth are offered protection, to a great extent, by the tongue.

Dental caries in babies can be spotted by white spots or stains on the teeth. As soon as you see these spots, take your baby to a dentist so that it can be attended to before it becomes worse. There is a common misconception amongst parents, that dental treatment is not necessary for baby teeth as they will anyway fall out. That would be the worst decision you can take.

The caries will not fade away if you ignore your baby's problem teeth. In fact, if no treatment is given, your baby runs the risk of losing teeth prematurely. When a baby loses teeth prematurely, chances of misalignment of the permanent teeth that follow are very high. This can also cause difficulty in speech especially pronunciation, chewing, and could also mar the face.
The main cause for tooth decay is the use of feeding bottles. Most parents are happy to let their little one go to sleep sucking on the bottle. Do not use the feeding bottle as a pacifier as it exposes the baby's teeth to prolonged contact with sugary particles found in milk and juices. If your baby is used to sleeping like that, you must replace the milk or juice with water.
Sugars found in milk and juices produce acids when they mix with plaque, and these acids eat away at the teeth over time. Avoid giving your baby soda or other soft drinks that are full of sugar. In addition to milk, you could give raw fruit or vegetables as a healthy snack. Although milk contains a lot of sugar, it definitely has several good health benefits and better than other drinks.

After your baby is done drinking milk, take a clean soft cloth or wet gauze and wipe the teeth. As soon as it is possible, shift your baby to sipping from a cup. The quantity of sugar left in the mouth will be greatly reduced. Allowing your baby sleep at your breast is also not a good practice as breast milk too contains sugar.

Remember that it is never too early for a dental visit for your little one. The first visit should ideally be when the first tooth shows up. This should be followed by regular visits and religiously follow all the dental hygiene practices taught by the dentist. You just might be able to save your baby from the trauma of early dental caries.