Bottle caries - a blow to the fragile teeth of our children

Bottle caries is a common name for a typical tooth decay affecting babies' teeth from the age of 10 to 48 months.

The disease occurs against the background of a weakening of the body's protective functions, violation of rules and diet and insufficient hygiene of the child's oral cavity.

The main feature of this disease is that the disease affects, mainly, only the front upper 6 teeth of the child.

The reason for this phenomenon often becomes: the habit of eating before going to bed, or in the middle of the night, mother's milk, porridge or a mixture of bottles without carrying out preventive measures - brushing teeth and rinsing your mouth.

As a consequence, it is on the upper teeth that a portion of the food remains overnight, promoting the growth of bacteria on them, the release of excess acid and the destruction of tooth enamel.

The development of caries of infant teeth begins with their cervical part, because it is here that most of the bacterial plaque accumulates. At the same time, the destroyed enamel becomes roughened and porous, while changing the color from shiny to matte and whitish.

Risk factors and causes of the disease

It has long been the opinion that heredity affects the strength and health of the teeth. Recent studies of physicians in this field have established that heredity does occur at the level of the usual predisposition of the organism to certain diseases.

However, "bad genes" are far from being the main one and, of course, not the only factor in the development of caries.

The main reasons for the emergence of bottle caries are:

1. Missing or inadequate oral hygiene .If the child, having eaten, immediately falls asleep - problems not to avoid. While brushing teeth and rinsing the mouth helps remove food debris.
2. Breaking the feeding regimen and improper feeding of often leads to lesions and tooth decay. Avoid excess carbohydrates, preferring vegetables and fruits - apples, carrots, celery, cauliflower.
3. Decreased immunity to .Weakening of the immune system of the baby's body due to a viral, infectious, or systemic disease, in most cases, is accompanied by inadequate salivation of protective enzymes - immunoglobulins, which hinder the development of harmful bacteria.
4. Unresolved dental problems of parents .Often, chewing food for a child or licking a pacifier, after falling to the floor, parents reward their child with a whole "bouquet" of pathogenic microflora. Therefore, it is very important for mom and dad to decide in time all their ENT and dental problems.
5. Having a pacifier while sleeping .A dummy, like most objects falling into the child's mouth, is a source of useful and harmful microflora. And constant sucking can lead to a decrease in the function of saliva, which prevents the natural cleansing of the mouth of the baby.

Signs that should be taken into account

It's no secret that diagnosing the disease at an early stage can prevent many complications in the future. This also applies to bottle caries, the early diagnosis of which avoids radical measures of treatment and surgical intervention in the restoration of small teeth.

To determine the first signs of the disease can be without visiting a medical institution, it is enough to examine the mouth cavity regularly enough.

Special attention should be paid to the upper pridegynovoy zone of the front teeth, because this type of damage develops in this part of the mouth.

White spots on the teeth, as in the photo - the first signs of bottle caries

At the initial stage of development the disease manifests itself in the form of whitish matte spots, which are classified in medicine as a stage of chalk or white spot.

To touch such foci are rough, have a heterogeneous structure or small, barely perceptible protrusions. Over time, these spots darken, acquiring a yellowish or brownish coloration, and deepen inside the tooth, expanding the affected area.

The onset of the carious process can be easily detected during examination, after which you should immediately consult a dentist. Even if the parents are afraid of panic dentists, a visit to the doctor with the baby should not be postponed. Because the course of the disease depends on the characteristics of the child's organism and timely treatment in the clinic will make it possible to save the sick tooth.

If at home, diagnosis is difficult - you should visit your doctor regularly for the purpose of preventive examinations.

How to stop the development of the process?

At the Cretaceous White Spot stage with the help of remineralizing therapy, it is possible to completely repair the damaged part of the enamel, both in the dentist's office and at home.

However, before deciding to use this therapy, parents should consult a doctor. Also, after the examination, the dentist, if necessary, should conduct additional laboratory and medical examinations of the child.

Only after receiving full information about the health of the baby, the attending physician will prescribe suitable medications and procedures for restoring the patient's teeth.

To restore the milk incisors at home, special gels and creams are used, replenishing the affected areas with mineral substances and sealing pores in the destroyed enamel. Moreover, this method will be effective only with the establishment of proper nutrition of the child and regular hygiene of the oral cavity.

How to treat "gin" from a bottle?

Many mothers believe that there is no need to treat the bottle caries - after all the milk teeth will fall out anyway. Especially it is inappropriate to expose the child to such serious stresses.

However, this opinion is not only erroneous, but also dangerous for the health of the crumbs. After all, damaged or destroyed teeth do not allow the child to properly bite and thoroughly chew food.

In addition, the development of harmful microflora in the oral cavity may adversely affect the growth and development of permanent incisors and molars. So, to visit a medical institution and conduct treatment is necessary, moreover, the earlier - the better.

It should be noted that the carrying out of rehabilitation procedures and the treatment of damaged teeth in children under 3 years is carried out, in most cases under general anesthesia.

Such a measure is a compulsory necessity, because a small child can not sit quietly with his mouth open for more than an hour. In addition, the baby can avoid a serious stressful situation, which may in the future affect his health and psyche.

In the early stages of the disease in modern clinics, a special technique for reconstructing tooth enamel crumbs is used - infiltration treatment - the so-called ICON system. The procedure itself is very laborious, requires special adaptations and equipment and takes about 1.5 hours.

Treatment with infiltrants

If there is a lesion of dentin and it is necessary to remove the affected tissues with a drill - the doctor to apply the usual process of tooth filling. The seals in this case are made of glass-ionomer cement or light-cured composite materials.

Prevention is the best medicine

To prevent the onset of a disease in a baby at such a young age, you should follow certain rules:

• regular brushing of teeth or oral treatment with medicinal herbs( chamomile, green tea, oak bark);
• use of special anti-caries napkins and gels;
• adherence to the diet - refusal to feed at night, replacing sweet juices with water at night;
• correction of the diet - rejection of flour and sweet dishes, introduction to the diet of fish, vegetables, fruits, sour-milk products and herbs;
• observance of hygiene measures by parents - do not give food from your spoon, do not lick the cutlery, pacifier or baby's dummy, do not chew food for crumbs( for this there is a blender or a metal strainer).

To prevent such a dangerous and unpleasant disease as bottle caries, there is enough elementary love and attention of parents.

Because simple preventive measures will avoid the appearance of the first symptoms, and attention and regular examinations - will make it possible to diagnose the disease at an early stage.

Parents need to be taught well that a dentist is a very fearless doctor, helping to cope with a number of complex problems. And timely solution of these tasks will avoid serious health problems in the future. It's not for nothing that folk wisdom says: "All diseases from teeth."And from dairy too.