Bottle caries: causes, treatment, prevention

It is hardly possible to find a person for whom problems with teeth will be a mere trifle. And for children, even more so, the sick teeth are the true source of fear, pain and experience.

Bottle caries is a common dental disease that can occur in infants not yet fed from a common table. If you notice dark spots on the tooth surface of a newborn, it's time to sound an alarm.

What is a bottle caries?

This disease, which affects children of early age: from 6 months to 3 years. "Bottle" is an everyday name, having many other colloquial analogues: milk, nursery, kefir. Bottle caries affects primarily the front teeth of the upper row. The fact is that they are the main load during the feeding of the baby from the bottle or breast. The accumulated plaque and the remains of food have a detrimental effect on the delicate enamel.

Milk caries in children begins with a cervical area: bacteria that enter the body from the outside, secrete acids and destroy enamel. At the first stage, small dark areas appear, which eventually become full carious cavities.

The main "source" of caries formation are sweet drinks, starting with children's juices, ending with ordinary sweetened water. Breast milk has similar properties, because it also, though not in a significant amount, contains sugar. Evening and night feeding of the baby is the most dangerous period: after a sleep in the oral cavity the bacterial flora becomes active, while saliva is practically not excreted, thus not preventing the activity of bacteria inside the body.

Causes of appearance

The causes of bottle caries can be very diverse. The most common is the habit of the mother to feed the baby before the day and night sleep. Pieces of food remain on the surface of the teeth, which eventually leads to trouble.

Also devastating for milk teeth are sweets: juices, cookies, sweets and other products containing sugar in large quantities. Breastmilk itself can also become one of the factors causing caries in a baby.

In addition to obvious reasons, there are a number of other factors that have a negative impact on the condition of the teeth:

• Changes in the baby's saliva (viscosity, mineral, and pH);
• General vulnerability of the body, weakened immunity due to other, more serious diseases;
• Lack of fluoride in the body;
• Poor oral hygiene or lack of it;
• Hereditary predisposition.

Very often caries can be transmitted from parents to the child. If you have a dental disease, refrain at the time of treatment for parental caresses, and even more so drop the habit of keeping the pacifier in your mouth before giving it to your child.

Experts recommend to get rid of dental problems at the planning stage of pregnancy, in order to avoid serious consequences in the future, not only for the baby, but for all members of the family.

How to recognize the dairy caries: photos, diagnosis at an early stage

Milk caries in children, as already mentioned above, affects not all teeth, but only the area of the anterior upper. They are in contact with food more than others.

Identify the bottle caries in children is simple enough. It manifests itself in the form of brown-yellow and brown-black spots on the cervical region. Affected teeth not only spoil the charming smile of the baby, but can cause him serious discomfort. Caries is often accompanied by a high sensitivity to cold and hot food, less often - pain.

The following are the criteria for establishing the final diagnosis:

• Early age of up to 3 years;
• Presence of night and evening feedings;
• Defeat of 4-6 anterior teeth;
• Visible signs of impaired oral hygiene.

To reveal the baby's caries, the photo from the Internet is not enough. If you notice disturbing notes in the child's behavior, feel free to go to a specialist.

To recognize bottle caries with 100% probability can only the children's dentist as a result of careful examination of the tooth surface. For this, as a rule, popular techniques of drying, dentistry, as well as special dyeing, which makes the affected areas much more visible, are used.

What is dangerous? Consequences and possible risks

One of the most dangerous diseases that affects baby teeth in children is caries. Its danger lies in rapid progression. In a few months, it can spread from one tooth to the next, causing serious consequences.

Without timely treatment, the development of bottle caries can cause pulpitis, and at the same time complete tooth loss.

The absence of one or more teeth can affect the further health of the baby. Inevitably, the formation of an incorrect bite, some deformations of the jaw, as well as speech and even breathing disorders.

Stages of development of bottle caries in children

Milk caries, like any other disease, has its own stages. Depending on the neglect of the situation, it is customary to distinguish 4 stages of the lesion of children's teeth.

The first stage. In the area of the neck part of the tooth, small white spots form. They are not visible to the naked eye, but they manifest themselves with complete drying. If you neglect the hygienic procedures, a yellowish coating may form on these places. This is a clear indication of the demineralization of the tooth surface.

The second stage. At this stage, the lesions become more pronounced. Dentin is dying, which leads to increased sensitivity of the teeth, especially to the cold. The surface of the tooth becomes softer, which eventually leads to discomfort and pain. The kid can still not speak, but frown, show his displeasure at the time of food or cleaning.

The third stage. Primary lesions increase, becoming more noticeable. The disease gets to the pulp, which, in turn, causes pain during meals, hygiene procedures, sleep. Caries begins to touch and neighboring baby teeth. The age of the child during this stage, as a rule, reaches 1 year 8 months - 3 years.

The fourth stage . The last stage of tooth damage. In fact, this is the stage of necrosis, in which the dentine-enamel compound is completely destroyed. The incisors are almost 95% destroyed, and the fangs and molars acquire a brownish hue. In addition, the kid constantly feels pain, which obsessively worries him during sleep and rest. Part of the appetite may disappear, and in some cases the interest in food may disappear completely.

Bottle caries: treatment

Eliminate the problem best in the first stage, when it has not yet begun to progress. Otherwise, you will have to resort to radical methods of treatment that require the use of general anesthesia.

In any case, do not ignore the resulting illness, otherwise the result of inaction can be deplorable: the formation of pulpitis, the transition of the disease to other dairy, as well as permanent teeth formed under them, speech and breathing of the baby.

In order not to bring the child to an extreme degree of illness, it is important to cope with caries in its initial stage, when the surface of the tooth becomes like a miniature sponge with many pores. A good seal will save the situation. Fortunately, there are several methods of dental treatment in children, and they are all equally effective.

Remineralizing Gels

Treatment of infant teeth at an early stage is one of the simplest tasks for a parent. However, it is worthwhile to understand that it is strictly forbidden to independently prescribe a remedy to a child after reading medical articles on the Internet. Such self-treatment may be ineffective, and with incorrect dosages lead to serious consequences - glut of fluoride and further development of fluorosis.

It is extremely important that the child is diagnosed by a qualified specialist by prescribing appropriate treatment. In the early stages - remineralizing gels. They effectively cope with the rudiments of the problem, gently restoring the surface of the affected tooth, while not creating discomfort to the baby and difficulties for parents.

ICON system

The effective way to eliminate dairy caries is the so-called ICON system. It implies the isolation of the sick teeth from the rest with a special latex plate - the rubberdam. The surface is covered with a gel designed to expand the pores, which are subsequently closed with a special composition after drying the tooth. At the end of the work, the teeth are shone with a special lamp to ensure good curing, and also polish for aesthetics.

ICON is an effective method of treatment. From an illness at an early stage, you can get rid of all at one time, but for young children you need general anesthesia.

Silvering

Controversial among dentists, but quite a budgetary way of treating teeth from bottle caries. The affected areas are covered with finely dispersed silver, which creates a natural protection. The procedure requires a repetition in a month.

This method has one serious drawback: a non-aesthetic appearance. Silver settles on the surface of the tooth, forming black spots, because of what the attractiveness of a smile suffers. But there are pluses: the lack of pain and the need for anesthesia.

Sealing

Such treatment of baby teeth is necessary if the hard part is affected - dentin. If you notice dark spots too late, then without removing the surface of the affected areas with the help of a drill can not do.

During the treatment, the specialist cleans the damaged cavities, and then fills them with a filling material. The procedure is not the fastest, and therefore will have to resort to general anesthesia, since children under 3 years old can not sit for a long time in one pose with an open mouth.

Delete

This method is used extremely rarely and only if the damaged tooth can not be restored. Some of the parents prefer to immediately resort to such a method of "treatment", so as not to cause discomfort to the baby. However, it is worthwhile to understand that tooth decay easily spreads to adjacent teeth. Removal of several can lead to speech disturbance, as well as the shape of new, permanent teeth.

The only way out is to install a prosthesis in place of the removed carious teeth, which is categorically contraindicated in early childhood. Therefore, before making reckless decisions, it is necessary to consult a specialist who will accurately determine the method of treatment.

Prevention

Prevent caries is much easier than curing. The only condition is to drop sloth and give enough time to care for the baby. As preventive measures it is necessary:

1. Pick up with the help of a specialist suitable means and pastes for hygienic procedures.
2. Refuse night feeding, nipples and bottles in favor of special children's cups.
3. Protect the child from contact with an aggressive "adult" environment: at least use individual spoons.
4. To teach the baby to sweat at a later age.
5. Regular visit to the children's dentist.
6. Fulfillment of all the expert's recommendations, especially when revealing the initial stage of caries.

Caries is an unpleasant disease for adults. About the kids and not worth talking about! However, if our health depends on ourselves, then the well-being of the child is the responsibility of every parent! Watch your child, and his smile will always be radiant and happy.