Why does a child have bad rotten teeth: reasons and salvation

Bad teeth in a child: reasons

A child’s baby teeth rot for various reasons.
Some are impossible to influence, others can be easily eliminated by dentists and caring adults. Most often, destruction of the enamel, and subsequently the coronal part of the primary occlusion units, is facilitated by:

• Disorders of intrauterine development of a child. Developmental pathologies are formed due to maternal toxicosis, non-compliance with nutritional recommendations, and the use of potent medications.
• Early birth of the baby. Prematurity of a baby indicates incomplete formation of internal systems - in particular, weak thin enamel of baby teeth.
• Antibacterial therapy administered to a child in the first year of life.
• Poor hygiene. Lack of systematic cleaning after the first tooth erupts, improper care, and inadequate parental control.
• Unbalanced child nutrition. Predominance of flour and sweets in the menu, lack of fermented milk and dairy products, hard fruits and vegetables.
• Reduced immunity. Congenital or due to a lack of vitamins in the diet.
• Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, dysbacteriosis.
• Diseases of the endocrine system - diabetes mellitus.
• Previous infections - ARVI, chicken pox, scarlet fever.
• Pathogenic microflora entering the baby’s mouth from the outside. If family members have the habit of licking the baby’s spoon or pacifier, or kissing the baby on the lips.
• Poor ecology is a significant external factor that negatively affects the condition of the child’s teeth and general well-being.
• Heredity - parents or grandparents have bad teeth.
• Mechanical injuries, external damage to tooth enamel - cracks, small chips.

Professional treatments

To stop tooth decay, experts recommend strengthening the enamel with the help of remineralizing agents:

• fluoridation – periodic coating with solutions containing fluorine and other useful microelements;
• artificial saturation of the enamel surface with calcium and other minerals - the dentinal tubules are sealed and the density of the enamel increases;
• ozonation – destruction of bacteria in the affected tooth tissues without injuring soft tissues, helps stop destruction and cure caries at the initial stage;
• filling of dental defects;
• prosthetics – a decaying tooth is covered with a crown to isolate it from aggressive environments and stop crumbling.
• fissure sealing – sealing the chewing surface of molars with a special filling material;

The dentist chooses the appropriate treatment method, depending on the condition of the teeth and the age of the patient.

If your teeth have already begun to decay/crumple or the first signs of caries have appeared (stains on the enamel, changes in its color), do not delay your visit to the dentist. This is when time matters!

How to determine if a child has bad baby teeth

A child's rotten front teeth are immediately visible. These are dark or yellow spots of enamel, reddened gums, and damaged edges. But sometimes decay begins on the distant teeth - molars, premolars, and then you need to focus on indirect signs.

The fact that a child is growing bad teeth is indicated by:

• complaints of pain and discomfort - reaction to toothpaste, hot or cold foods;
• unpleasant odor from the baby’s mouth - putrid, pungent;
• change in enamel color - the appearance of dark stripes, yellow or dark spots;
• development of dental diseases - caries, pulpitis.

Any of the listed factors indicates the need for consultation with a pediatric dentist - a full diagnosis and timely treatment.

Manifestation of dental hypoplasia

Hypoplasia can be systemic or local. In the first case, the entire dentition is affected (the enamel of both milk and permanent teeth is damaged), in the second, one or more permanent teeth are damaged. Local hypoplasia is a consequence of mechanical trauma or an inflammatory process.

Clinical picture of hypoplasia:

• The appearance of white spots on the child’s teeth. Such defects are white (less often yellowish) appear on the outside of the teeth, have a clear contour, and do not cause pain.
• Underdevelopment of enamel. Grooves or depressions appear on the teeth. Pain is usually not noted, but aesthetic defects are very noticeable.
• Lack of enamel (aplasia). A rare manifestation of the disease, the most severe form. The enamel may partially or completely peel off from the teeth, exposing dentin. In such cases, a painful reaction to thermal and chemical irritants is observed.

We invite you to read: How much does it cost to put braces on your teeth: how to save money and get a tax deduction for them

Stages of decay of children's milk teeth

A child’s bad teeth almost always mean caries. The disease is distinguished by the type and depth of tissue damage. Dentists highlight:

1. Initial and superficial caries is the primary destruction of the enamel, manifested as white spots.
2. Visible carious lesions are medium and deep caries. Teeth rot quickly and stains develop into cavities. The child begins to experience pain. An unpleasant odor appears from the mouth.
3. Circular caries is the circular destruction of enamel and dentin near the gums. If left untreated, the tooth breaks and rots further to the root.

In particularly advanced situations, damage covers an increasingly larger volume of tissue, leading to serious pain and loss of the milk unit.

Features of bottle caries

Bottle caries in a child under 1 year of age is one of the most common types of carious lesions in primary teeth. It occurs when young children are bottle-fed before bed. As a result, food remains in the oral cavity, which bacteria actively process while the child sleeps.

There is a myth that bottle caries cannot occur if the child is fed natural products - milk, kefir, juice without sugar. But cariogenic bacteria feed not only on artificial, but also on “natural” sugars - lactose, fructose, so the “naturalness” of children’s products does not reduce the risk of developing bottle caries.

Bad teeth in a child: how to treat

Decay of baby teeth can be stopped. Especially if the parents quickly assessed the threat and brought the child to the children's dental clinic. Treatment options are different:

1. Remineralization of tooth enamel

   The doctor will apply a special gel to the baby teeth, which contains minerals to strengthen the teeth. Usually it is calcium, phosphorus, fluorine. The substances will restore the enamel structure at an early stage of destruction, but if the teeth are already rotting, the dentist will select a different treatment.

2. Sealing

   Cleaning out carious cavities and then installing a filling. The preparation method is selected according to the patient’s age. Modern dental clinics treat teeth without a drill - using the ICON method, as well as using classical methods.

3. Ozonation of teeth

   A method of disinfecting destroyed cavities followed by filling, when ozone is used to eliminate pathogenic microflora. The treatment has proven itself to work with children's rotten teeth, but is only suitable for moderate decay.

   Read also:  Kez obturator and other devices to eliminate the consequences of nonunion of the palate

4. Laser therapy

   The disinfectant effect of a laser beam is an excellent way to disinfect a small cavity and remove bacterial microorganisms in the mouth of a young patient. Suitable for the treatment of moderate caries of primary teeth.

5. Removal

   A radical method of dealing with rotten teeth of a child. Used when it is impossible to carry out therapy and save teeth.

Rodikova Tatyana
When parents are interested in why their child has bad teeth, I first of all ask about nutrition. Almost all children today eat sweets, chips, and drink soda without restrictions. Of course, this negatively affects the teeth. The second common reason is heredity. Congenital diseases and medications are less likely to damage teeth.

Why treat baby teeth?

Rotten baby teeth do not always attract the attention of parents. Especially if the pathological processes are painless and do not bother the child. Adults think that when the bite changes, the bad teeth will disappear by themselves, and instead of rotten teeth, normal molars will grow. Dentists warn about the fallacy of such a misconception.

Rotten milk teeth are:

• damage or destruction of tooth germs - a high risk that the root units will grow sick or not appear at all;
• early loss of primary occlusion units - leads to displacement of existing teeth, the appearance of crowding, and the formation of a pathologically abnormal bite;
• an ugly smile, an unaesthetic appearance - the appearance of complexes due to appearance in young children, decreased contact with peers, uncertainty, isolation;
• deterioration of diction - rotten, breaking teeth interfere with the correct movements of the tongue during speech, leading to a lisp, burr;
• gradual spread of infection - damage not only to the surface of the teeth, but also to the pulp, development of pulpitis, the appearance of an abscess, as well as a tendency to ENT diseases and gastrointestinal diseases.

What to do if your teeth are crumbling?

The first and main thing to do if teeth are crumbling in adults and children is to consult a dentist for an examination and professional consultation. The doctor will advise how to strengthen the teeth so that they do not crumble, if necessary, he will carry out therapeutic procedures (remineralization, fluoridation), and if the process is advanced, restoration. In addition, this problem often requires concomitant treatment of the gums, since sometimes dental tissues suffer due to inflammatory processes in the soft tissues of the oral cavity, and vice versa, dental diseases lead to problems with the gums.

You also need to pay attention to the following points:

• Normalization of nutrition with the development of a certain food regimen and revision of the diet in the direction of increasing “healthy” foods in it (fermented milk products, eggs, sea fish, herbs, legumes).
• Thorough oral hygiene includes not only mandatory brushing twice daily, but also rinsing your mouth after meals, using dental floss and toothpicks.
• Timely treatment of diseases of the endocrine and digestive system, adherence to the diet indicated in such cases.
• Consultations with an endocrinologist and therapist to identify possible causes of tooth enamel destruction.
• Rejection of bad habits.

How to prepare your child for an orthodontic appointment

The initial appointment with an orthodontist takes place without any preparation. The child just needs to brush his teeth and eat beforehand. The latter is desirable, as it will help reduce salivation and facilitate the examination procedure. The child should also be told about the doctor’s specialization. In simple words, explain who this pediatric orthodontist is and what he treats.

An orthodontic examination is a painless procedure. It does not cause fear or discomfort in the baby, but it helps to identify deviations in the development of the dentition as early as possible.

Soldatenkova Alina

Typically, the removal of decayed milk teeth involves the extraction of several units at once. At Azabuka, we recommend performing this procedure under anesthesia or sedation. It is completely safe for the child, and most importantly, it does not leave traumatic, unpleasant memories in the child’s memory.

Other causes of enamel darkening in children

Rotten baby teeth in a child look different in the photo. Usually these are black spots, lumpy enamel, deformed crowns - unpleasant, ugly, even creepy. But an unaesthetic appearance does not always indicate rotting. Sometimes the reasons lie in other diagnoses or pathologies:

• black plaque;
• enamel hypoplasia;
• abnormalities in tooth shape.

Black plaque - stains on baby teeth

Dark spots on teeth are not always tooth decay. It could also be:

• Priestley's plaque - appears due to the increased activity of certain bacteria that secrete a black pigment. The defect is aesthetic, but dentists advise cleaning the enamel from plaque, since it can prevent caries or other dental diseases.
• Dark deposits due to taking iron supplements are an aesthetic problem, which professional cleaning helps to cope with.

Dark pigmentation is also caused by dysbiosis, lack of calcium, and taking antibiotics. Plaque is removed using gentle dental cleaning methods, returning the enamel to its natural whiteness.

Enamel hypoplasia and tooth shape abnormalities

Hypoplasia manifests itself as a change in the structure and color of the enamel and is not a carious lesion. Is it congenital or acquired? In the case of systemic hypoplasia, the shape of the dentition units may also be affected. Externally, the pathology manifests itself as:

• an altered line of the tooth edge is a natural deformation, and not due to rotten teeth;
• barrel-shaped crowns, cone-shaped - due to changes in the tooth at the dentin level;
• spots on the tooth surface of different sizes and shades - altered enamel thickness, insufficiently developed tissues.

For isolated manifestations, hypoplasia is not treated. In case of severe defects in baby teeth, the doctor will suggest remineralization and filling of the affected areas.

Diagnostics

For a basic diagnosis, a dental examination is sufficient, during which the doctor identifies characteristic changes in the appearance of the enamel. To clarify the diagnosis, a drying test (iodine test) is performed. In some cases, microscopic examination and x-rays are used. As a rule, at the same time, the child is sent for a consultation with an endocrinologist or gastroenterologist to rule out stomach pathology, accompanied by the reflux of acid into the oral cavity, or diseases of the thyroid gland.

How to protect your child's teeth

Among the main preventive measures for the preservation of teeth in children of any age are:

• Maintaining oral hygiene to prevent plaque formation - timely care, selection of toothbrushes and toothpastes according to age, professional cleaning using gentle methods.
• Good nutrition - creating a varied menu that will include yoghurts, kefir, cheeses, vegetables and fruits.
• Selection of a vitamin complex according to age - independently or after consultation with a pediatrician.
• Timely visits to the dentist - pediatricians recommend coming for scheduled appointments every 4-6 months. This helps to identify caries and enamel destruction at an early stage and save teeth from serious problems.
• Fissure sealing - smoothing the lumpy surfaces of molars and premolars to reduce the risk of caries and rotting of distant units.

Rodikova Tatyana
Parents often have to explain: it doesn’t matter when the child’s bad teeth appeared - at 3 years old or at 7 years old - they need to be treated. Waiting until they fall out on their own is a big risk. Fortunately, in most cases the explanations work and we begin treatment. It's nice to see how a child's face changes when he sees beautiful, even, snow-white teeth in the mirror - instead of rotten and black ones.

It is also worth carefully monitoring the mechanical integrity of the teeth, since any crack or chip is a potential threat to the child’s dental health.

The health of children is the concern of parents. Poor heredity, diseases, premature birth indicate the need for careful monitoring of the condition of teeth - timely prevention and treatment. If everything is done correctly, then the child will not have rotten teeth, but only a joyful and beautiful smile.

How to strengthen enamel at home?

To protect the enamel from damage, it is recommended to follow a balanced diet (the diet should contain foods containing calcium - fermented milk products, almonds, hazelnuts, beans, peas, meat, hard cheeses, oatmeal and barley), and take vitamins with calcium.

Special toothpastes (for example, Vivax Dent, Elmex, ApaCare, Lacalut) and gels (ROCS, Amazing White Minerals) are also indicated.

Do not forget that the result of treatment depends on the professionalism of the dentist. On our website you can find a list of clinics that successfully treat this disease.