how to deal with early childhood caries
Wednesday 22 January 2025
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today

How to deal with early childhood caries

Egypt Today, egypt today

Egypt Today, egypt today How to deal with early childhood caries

A baby
Muscat - Arab Today

Early childhood caries, also known as baby bottle caries, baby bottle tooth decay, or bottle rot, is a dental disease characterised by severe decay in the teeth of infants or young children.

Early childhood caries is a very common bacterial infection and is caused when sweetened liquids or those with natural sugars (like milk, formula, and fruit juice) stay on an infant's teeth for a long time. 

Early stage

White spots on a tooth’s surface are early symptoms of baby bottle tooth decay.

At this stage, fluoride treatment can be used to remineralise all of the teeth and reverse the decay.

As per the American Dental Association, “It’s not just what you put in your child's bottle that causes decay, but how often and for how long. Giving your child a bottle of sweetened liquid many times a day isn’t a good idea. Allowing your child to fall asleep with a bottle during naps or at night can also harm the child’s teeth.”

If teeth become infected or are lost too early due to baby bottle tooth decay, your child may end up developing poor eating habits, speech problems, crooked teeth, and damaged adult teeth.

How to avoid baby bottle caries

Few simple steps can prevent tooth decay. They include:

• Wipe the baby’s gums with a clean gauze pad or washcloth after each feeding.

• Begin brushing your child's teeth as soon as his or her first tooth erupts.

• Try not to share saliva with the baby through common use of feeding spoons or licking pacifiers.

• When your child’s teeth come, brush them gently with a child-size toothbrush.

• Supervise brushing until your child can be counted on to spit and not swallow toothpaste —usually not before he or she is 6 or 7.

• Encourage your child to drink from a cup by his/her first birthday.

• Clean and massage gums in areas without teeth.

• Start flossing once all the baby teeth have come in.

• Make sure your child is getting enough fluoride, which helps lessen cavities. Ask your dentist if you need to use a supplement.

• Schedule regular dental visits by your child's first birthday. Dentists also offer special sealant coatings, which can help prevent tooth decay in children.

Other suggestions to help prevent baby bottle tooth decay:

• Don’t fill bottles with soft drinks. Soft drinks are not recommended for children, as they have no nutritional value.

• Never allow your child to fall asleep with a bottle.

• Never give your child a pacifier dipped in anything sweet.

• Reduce the sugar in your child’s diet, especially between meals.

Later stage

If severe decay is spotted like brown or black spots on the teeth, bleeding or swollen gums, fever, swelling or irritability, which could indicate infection and bad breath, then tooth fillings will need to be done and if pain has started pulpectomy or nerve treatment can also be initiated.

The best approach to baby bottle tooth decay is prevention. If your child does experience early childhood dental caries, you and your child's dentist can work together to determine the best treatment options.

Source :Times Of Oman

egypttoday
egypttoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

how to deal with early childhood caries how to deal with early childhood caries



GMT 13:29 2018 Friday ,14 December

Turkey targets military over alleged Gulen links

GMT 17:54 2011 Wednesday ,11 May

Israel to open Karm Abu Salem crossing

GMT 13:16 2012 Monday ,31 December

The government vs. the elections

GMT 10:49 2015 Thursday ,19 November

Who's 'so vain' it was Warren Beatty, at least in part

GMT 12:02 2012 Wednesday ,12 December

Its carnival time at the social centres

GMT 12:41 2017 Thursday ,09 February

B-sample clears All Black of doping

GMT 11:46 2015 Tuesday ,03 March

EU condemns 'arbitrary' Nemtsov funeral bans

GMT 14:02 2015 Wednesday ,04 March

Mexico nabs Zetas drug cartel leader 'Z-42'

GMT 19:33 2014 Thursday ,27 November

'I was wrong' to ignore sexual assault allegations

GMT 08:42 2011 Friday ,01 July

Qatar shares rise to two-week high

GMT 14:30 2015 Friday ,27 February

Qatar's emir meets Arab-American figures

GMT 12:00 2012 Sunday ,11 March

Rustic Italy:places to stay for food lovers

GMT 19:43 2015 Saturday ,03 January

Prophet's birthday marked in Port Said

GMT 13:20 2017 Monday ,26 June

King leaves on a private visit

GMT 11:34 2014 Sunday ,27 April

Best home design

GMT 09:07 2014 Wednesday ,18 June

'No need to change' Europe's budget rules

GMT 21:29 2011 Wednesday ,04 May

Daughter: Bin Laden taken alive then shot

GMT 09:36 2016 Friday ,16 September

'Reckless' Netanyahu harmed US aid

GMT 11:53 2014 Thursday ,17 July

Tom Ford reveals Fall 2014 campaign

GMT 19:02 2011 Wednesday ,13 April

Mubarak sons arrive in Tura prison

GMT 14:04 2017 Saturday ,14 October

LIBRA (September24th-October23rd)

GMT 10:43 2018 Sunday ,14 January

Basaksehir agree Turan loan deal with Barcelona

GMT 21:38 2015 Friday ,20 February

Saudi deputy FM meets US official

GMT 12:40 2012 Friday ,21 September

The Middleton fit for fifty

GMT 15:29 2012 Tuesday ,17 July

US approves first HIV prevention pill

GMT 10:35 2016 Saturday ,04 June

On Tiananmen anniversary

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
egypttoday, Egypttoday, Egypttoday