Milk tooth cavities and myths:
Milk teeth emerge through a baby’s gums during the first couple of years of life. By the time the infant is aged 2.5-3 years, all 20 of milk teeth should have fully emerged.
These teeth loosen and fall out between the ages of 6 to 12 years to give way to adult teeth.
Although milk teeth are temporary, they still need to be kept free of tooth decay and require careful maintenance.
Decay in milk teeth can occur due to variety of reasons:
-In an infant it can occur due to prolonged bottle feeding or Frequent exposure to sugary liquids.
-In a child it can occur due to frequent snacking between meals, frequent consumption of sticky chocolates and toffees or failure to maintain proper oral hygiene.
Once, the Decay starts it spreads to other milk teeth in the mouth in No Time!
A decay in initial stage may look like a discoloured spot on tooth, but if not paid attention to can turn into a cavity and hollow out the tooth and sometimes destroy the entire tooth structure ...
And once this decay reaches the roots, it can lead to infection and cause a lot of pain to the child.
Even though milk teeth are temporary
They pave way for the permanent teeth.
They are responsible for speech development, For chewing food and providing proper nutrition to the child.
A decayed tooth harbours millions of bacteria which go into the child’s stomach every time they eat, thus hampering their development.
A decayed milk tooth also affects the bud(egg) of the permanent tooth lying beneath it in the jaw, and so in the future child may have trouble with their permanent teeth too.
The last milk tooth sheds at the age of 12-14,therefore these milk teeth are present in the child’s mouth during a very crucial age of their growth and development and so it is important to preserve them.
Once decay starts in the tooth, the only way to stop its progression is to get the decay removed and replace it with a tooth like material (cement or crown) by the dentist.
We at Vasupujya have a team of experienced doctors who specialize in this, who aim to make your child’s teeth cavity free and give them beautiful smiles.