Childhood is a time filled with adventure, exploration and growth. However, these years of discovery are also home to the occasional dental problems — a climb on the jungle gym could end in a broken tooth, or a missed spot of plaque could result in a cavity.
Many of a kid’s dental problems are the same ones that affect adults, but your child’s teeth are still developing, and they’re softer and younger than their permanent successors. Untreated dental conditions can cause poor and misaligned tooth development, leading to more serious problems as a child grows up.
Understanding common pediatric dental problems and why they happen will help you and your child know how to prevent them. Here are the 10 most common dental problems for kids, along with how to prevent them from developing.
Most young children aren’t proficient at brushing and flossing without supervision. Coupled with the fact that some kids might have a sugar-heavy diet, cavities can become a major issue. The acid in the plaque essentially eats away at the enamel, eventually wearing away at the tooth.
Parents should supervise and help children brush their teeth until they can firmly grasp and control a toothbrush on their own. Making sure your kids are removing plaque, bacteria, and food particles from their teeth every day will help prevent early tooth decay. If a cavity does develop, the typical treatment is a tooth filling, which involves drilling away the decay and filling the hole with a hard composite material.
Sensitive teeth are a dental problem can be uncomfortable and distracting, often disrupting your child’s focus and routine. Some of the different things that can cause your child’s teeth to feel sensitive include:
In the case of sensitive teeth, there’s a variety of treatments that can help reduce the pain and discomfort that your child is experiencing. If the sensitivity is caused by a dental-related problem, such as a cavity, you should see your dentist right away to prevent the issue from becoming worse.
It is a dental problem that can happen at virtually any time. Kids playing sports, roughhousing with siblings, or falling while riding a bike are all scenarios in which a dental-related accident can happen. These accidents can result in teeth chipping, breaking, or cracking. In more severe circumstances, a permanent tooth may be knocked out completely.
If your child’s permanent tooth does fall out, immediately call the dentist for an emergency appointment and retrieve the tooth. Place the tooth in a glass of milk, saline solution, or clean water. The dentist may be able to place the permanent tooth back into the socket, allowing it to reattach with the help of a retainer.
You may have thought that gum diseases are dental problems only seen in adults. Unfortunately for parents, this is not the case. Gingivitis and gum disease can occur in children and are actually quite common in pediatric dental patients. Gingivitis is the precursor to gum disease, and it’s often marked by red, swollen gums, and slight bleeding when your child brushes or flosses.
Gum disease is more aggressive in children with poor oral hygiene. It often involves pain in the mouth, gum recession, and areas of swelling. In most cases, gingivitis and gum disease could have been avoided if more care was taken to brush and floss daily. In other instances, your child’s teeth may grow in so crooked and crowded that they cannot properly clean their teeth, resulting in areas of gingivitis or gum disease.
Children rarely have perfectly straight teeth without any intervention. Luckily, there are many orthodontic treatments available to help your child or teen smile with confidence. Orthodontic problems are often a result of genetics, with the size and shape of the jaw playing a role in how your child’s teeth grow and come together. Some common misalignment issues seen in children include an overbite, underbite, open bite, and spacing problems.
It’s a good idea to have your child in for their first orthodontic appointment around the age of seven or eight. Orthodontic problems can mean more than just a crooked smile. Significant overcrowding and misalignments of your child’s teeth can result in jaw problems, cracked teeth, and oral hygiene issues.
Many infants, toddlers, and small children resort to thumb-sucking and pacifier use as a means to soothe anxiety. It doesn’t really become a dental problem until the child is older and still continues with this habit as prolonged thumb sucking can cause issues with the way a child’s teeth develop. Because of this, parents should not allow the habit to continue past the toddler stage.
Most often, chronic thumb sucking and pacifier use can cause what is known as an open bite. An open bite is when the upper front teeth don’t come together with the lower front teeth, leaving a gap even when the mouth is closed. This can make it difficult for your child to bite and chew, and can even affect their speech.
Let’s face it, many adults are nervous when it comes to visiting the dentist. So it’s no surprise that kids and teens are often fearful of the experience as well. Dental anxiety can make it challenging to get your child in for their routine dental checkups and teeth cleanings. It can also stay with them into adulthood, affecting their dental health in significant ways.
The best way to combat dental anxiety in children is to make the experience relaxed, fun, and enjoyable. Choose a pediatric dentist that has experience working with anxious kids and has a process in place to help them. In addition, teaching your children the importance of dental care and making it a part of their routine can help in reinforcing the notion that they shouldn’t be scared.
This involuntary habit is seen in most babies and toddlers. Children may clench or grind their teeth due to some discomfort in their jaws when their primary teeth start to emerge. However, children stop doing this after their teeth develop. But some children may continue grinding their teeth and risk the chances of eroding their tooth enamels. This can result in tooth decay or even sensitive tooth.
Also known as halitosis, bad breath can affect anyone, regardless of their age. However, chronic bad breath in children could indicate a deeper root issue than eating stinky foods.
bad breath could be an indicator
Halitosis is ultimately caused by bacteria that live in the mouth. These bacteria colonies feed on leftover food, fluid and plaque — as they eat, they produce hydrogen sulfide, which leads to a bad smell in the mouth. As with adults, bad breath is most common in children in the morning, after they wake up. During the night, bacteria multiply in the mouth, leading to a case of “morning breath.” However, if your child’s bad breath persists throughout the day, it probably indicates a larger issue.
Gum problems, poor oral hygiene and dry mouth are the most common culprits behind halitosis, but other issues such as chronic sinusitis, diabetes, tooth decay and digestive problems can also lead to bad breath. Sometimes, the way medication breaks down in the body could produce abnormal-smelling breath.
Proper dental hygiene is the best way to treat and prevent bad breath. An antibacterial mouthwash may help reduce any smells, and brushing the tongue could help fight bacteria in the mouth.
For many children, the first loose tooth is an exciting sign — the tooth fairy may make a visit soon, and their small “baby tooth” will soon be replaced by a “grown-up” one. Tooth loss is a natural stage of development. The first lost tooth is usually one of the middle front teeth, and it typically loosens around the age of six. Generally, molars aren’t lost until a child is between 10 and 12, and most children have their full set of 28 permanent teeth by the time they’re 13 years old.
For many children, losing their primary or “baby” teeth is painless. However, if it refuses to fall out or is causing the kid pain, it might be time to consult your dentist.
Most loose teeth are a result of the eruption of a permanent tooth underneath the primary one, but some are due to injury or trauma to the tooth before it’s ready to come out. Go to a certified dentist if your child’s tooth is loose before it should be — they’ll try everything they can to save the tooth so that the permanent teeth will develop properly.
Resources:
parenting.firstcry.com
absolutedental.com
dentalchoice.ca
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. Growing Smiles is a pediatric dentist in Anna, Richardson, Plano, Garland, Murphy we have Pediatric Services in Texas: Early Childhood Care, Preventive Care, General Treatments, Sedation Dentistry, Special Needs Dentistry, Emergency Service and Orthodontic (Braces & Invisalign) For more information call us to answer all of your questions so get an appointment today.
We all know that kids like to test gravity and sometimes suffer the consequences (ex, Tongue Laceration, Eyelid Laceration, and Concussions). One of the most common consequences of testing gravity (or general poor coordination) is dental trauma. This is true for adults and older children also, but what needs to be done when the trauma involves a young child’s primary dentition?
The most common injury to a tooth is a chip. Young children might chip a tooth when falling, playing at the park, or even when taking a bath at home. Chipped teeth are not usually a dental emergency, but you should make an appointment to have the tooth examined shortly after the accident.
Some chips are not serious. They may not even extend deep enough to harm the tooth. If your child is very young and the chip is shallow, your dentist might recommend waiting a year or two before filling the chip so your child will be able to sit still for the appointment.
However, some chips can break through the enamel of a baby tooth, exposing the soft dentin underneath. These chips will need to be filled immediately to prevent further decay. Don’t rely on your exam to determine whether or not a chip is serious. Some chips may look mild, but even a hairline crack in the dentin will expose the tooth to harmful bacteria.
When your child’s tooth is knocked hard enough to make it loose in the socket, there can be some cause for concern, but your child will generally recover quickly. Your child might:
These are normal symptoms of a loosened tooth because of trauma. The best solution is to encourage soft foods and to keep your child from playing with the loose tooth as it resettles and heals. However, you should still have the tooth examined by a dentist because sometimes a tooth can have deep nerve damage.
In rare cases, the permanent tooth might become damaged, especially if the baby tooth is forced upwards into the socket. An x-ray will help determine whether or not there is any damage.
With a lot of external force, your child may lose his or her tooth. Usually, if the tooth is primary or baby, your dentist might recommend just allowing the Tooth Fairy to come and collect the tooth. Replacing the tooth might affect the growth of the primary tooth, and it’s often not worth the risk. A spacer can help keep your child’s teeth from crowding.
A dental exam is still necessary to make sure that there are no underlying problems from the accident, but you won’t have to worry about chewing food or speech problems. It will only be a short while before the primary tooth comes to fill in the gap.
Each of the above situations can lead to more serious dental problems. Parents might become concerned to see a tooth turning grey or brown shortly after trauma. This is normal for damaged teeth.
Think of the discoloration as a bruise. Increased blood flow to broken vessels in the tooth leads to a grayish tinge. It sometimes fades, but many times, the tooth will stay slightly darker than its fellows. The lack of rich blood supply to the tooth will not fully resolve the color change. In a baby tooth, this is not a concern most of the time.
In months following the trauma, whether it was a chip or a loose tooth, be careful to watch the tooth for signs of trouble. Even if the color does not fully return, the tooth could be perfectly healthy, and it will remain that way with the right hygiene.
In rare cases, though, sometimes the pulp inside the tooth can die as a reaction to the trauma and reduced blood flow to the tooth. An abscess will form. These infections are painful and often result in tooth loss for young children. The only other alternative is a root canal, but the care and expense required are often too much for a baby tooth, considering the tooth will fall out to make way for adult teeth.
Signs of an abscess include a high fever, gum, and facial swelling, and great pain. Some children may not be able to communicate the pain they are feeling. For example, if a front tooth becomes abscessed, a child might complain of nasal pain, even though the infection is based on the root of the tooth.
Resources:
pedemmorsels.com
stanfordchildrens.org
treasuredsmilesdentistry.com
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. Growing Smiles is a pediatric dentist in Anna, Richardson, Plano, Garland, Murphy we have Pediatric Services in Texas: Early Childhood Care, Preventive Care, General Treatments, Sedation Dentistry, Special Needs Dentistry, Emergency Service and Orthodontic (Braces & Invisalign) For more information call us to answer all of your questions.
Baby teeth, also called primary teeth, are typically whiter than adult permanent teeth because they are more calcified. Baby teeth can become discolored for many reasons, including:
If your child is old enough to start getting permanent teeth, you may notice that these teeth look a bit more yellow. Don’t worry. This is normal.
There are a few reasons that permanent teeth may look yellow. First, they have more dentin (the yellowish second layer of the tooth) compared to baby teeth. The nerve canal is also larger when the tooth first erupts. The enamel of the permanent teeth is more naturally transparent when they first emerge and replace the baby teeth.
Combined, these factors can make it look like your child’s tooth is yellow or stained. But don’t worry. Over time, the enamel will harden, and as your child’s remaining baby teeth fall out and are replaced, their smile will become a consistent white color.
If your child doesn’t brush at least twice a day for 2+ minutes, bacteria-filled plaque and tartar can form on their teeth. Plaque can attract stains from foods and beverages, and tartar has a yellowish-brown color that may also discolor the teeth.
If you believe your child’s teeth may have excessive plaque buildup, they may have a higher risk of cavities.
A number of genetic factors can affect the formation of your child’s tooth enamel. If your child’s enamel is thinner or weaker than normal, their teeth may look yellow. This is because enamel is whitish in color, while the layer of dentin underneath the enamel looks much more yellow.
If the enamel is thin, the yellow dentin below it can show through more clearly, which will make your child’s teeth appear discolored. Children with weak enamel will require special care and attention to keep their teeth free of cavities and other complications.
This is very rare in the developed world, but it’s still worth discussing. Tetracycline and similar antibiotics were first used to fight bacterial infections in the 1950s.
What likely happens is the tetracycline binds to the hard tissues of the teeth. Then, when the tooth erupts, it causes a yellow discoloration that will eventually oxidize and turn brownish-gray. For this reason, pediatricians no longer administer this category of antibiotics to pregnant women or kids under the age of 12 in America.
Some types of tooth staining can be treated via whitening strips or something called Vital Bleaching, in which hydrogen peroxide-based treatments are applied to the teeth and then special lights can be applied to accelerate it. These types of treatments are usually reserved for mild and uniform discolorations of teeth. If your dentist recommends these types of tooth whitening, they’ll base the proper course of action not only on your child’s age and ability to handle the treatment, but also on the condition of the teeth and staining themselves.
For intrinsic discolorations, there are other techniques that can be used. These include the “etch, bleach, and seal” technique which removes stains that are still near the surface, “microabrasion with dental bleaching” which is a bit harsher, or, if these treatments won’t be enough to lighten the teeth, such as in the case of deep tetracycline stains, composite veneers, which go over the fronts of the teeth and require the removal of a layer of enamel, might be suggested.
Veneers don’t last forever, so if you’re looking at veneers as an option, you might want to consider whether your child will be able to continue their upkeep as an adult to avoid further complications. Sometimes whitening is only a minor cosmetic concern and drastic actions to make the teeth look white can cause more harm in the long run.
If you’re considering tooth whitening for your child, it’s important to speak with your dentist about how uncomfortable the treatment is, how much it costs, and how effective it will be at eliminating the problem.
Resources:
wecaredentalcare.com
superkidsdentistry.com
mayoclinic.org
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. Growing Smiles is a pediatric dentist in Anna, Richardson, Plano, Garland, Murphy we have Pediatric Services in Texas: Early Childhood Care, Preventive Care, General Treatments, Sedation Dentistry, Special Needs Dentistry, Emergency Service and Orthodontic (Braces & Invisalign) For more information call us to answer all of your questions so get an appointment today.
Toothaches are a common problem for children. A toothache is usually a sign of a larger problem, like tooth decay, and can get worse quickly if not treated properly. If your child has a toothache, they should see a dentist as soon as possible to prevent the problem from getting worse.
A toothache often happens after an injury to the tooth. The most common form of injury to a tooth is from a cavity. This is a hole in a tooth.
A cavity is often the result of poor dental hygiene. Sugar and starch in foods allow bacteria in the mouth to damage the teeth. The bacteria in the mouth feed on sugar and starch and make an acid that can eat through the teeth. This leads to tooth decay.
Each child may feel symptoms a bit differently. But below are the most common symptoms of a toothache:
Your child’s healthcare provider can often diagnose a toothache with a complete health history and exam of your child. He or she will likely refer your child to a dentist for evaluation and care.
At the dentist, your child may have X-rays done. An X-ray makes images of internal tissues, bones, and teeth. The dentist may also check for cavities using a device called a transilluminator. It uses no radiation.
The symptoms of a toothache may seem like other health or dental problems. Make sure your child sees his or her healthcare provider or dentist for a diagnosis.
If your child is experiencing throbbing pain, fatigue, or fever, you should call your pediatrician as soon as possible. If your child is experiencing mouth pain accompanied by trouble breathing or swallowing, it can indicate a more serious situation and you should take your son or daughter to the emergency room.
Most mouth pain in children can be remedied with the simple steps here. The important thing is that you remain calm, no matter what. Your child is taking cues from you and if you panic, he or she will panic.
Treatment will depend on your child’s symptoms, age, and general health. It will also depend on how severe the condition is.
Treatment may include:
If the infection is severe, your child may be treated in a hospital. He or she may need antibiotics through an IV (intravenous) tube.
Good oral habits can prevent cavities, the leading reason for a toothache. Make sure your child:
Tips to help you get the most from a visit to your child’s healthcare provider:
Resources:
mykoolsmiles.com
urmc.rochester.edu
greenhillsdentalkc.com
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. Growing Smiles is a pediatric dentist in Anna, Richardson, Plano, Garland, Murphy we have Pediatric Services in Texas: Early Childhood Care, Preventive Care, General Treatments, Sedation Dentistry, Special Needs Dentistry, Emergency Service and Orthodontic (Braces & Invisalign) For more information call us to answer all of your questions so get an appointment today.