Dentist Samuel Dreizen argues in The Journal of School Health that the prevalence of tooth disease in what is presumably the best nourished nation in the world today
“stutters the mind. In this country, less than 5% of the school-age population is immune to the ravages of this disease.”
Children require the assistance of their parents to resist the ravages of tooth decay.
What can you do as a parent to aid your children in this regard? You can educate children important dental care information. And it can start with developing a fondness for their teeth.
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You can teach your children about the wonders that are teeth. Why is this so? Because the enamel of your teeth is the toughest substance in your body. Teeth can withstand a lot of physical stress, from hard items like sweets, nuts, and broken ice to soft breads, cookies, and cooked rice. They also function at a variety of temperatures, depending on what a person eats. At one meal, they may be served a 180° F. beverage, followed by a 20° F. ice cream the next. It’s enough to get your teeth chattering!
These amazing teeth can survive for a long period if properly cared for. That is how the Creator made things, and it is important for youngsters to understand this. Much of the causes why people lose their teeth in their older years is due to their own or their parents’ negligence. You can truly affect your children’s development and maintenance of healthy teeth.
The Growth of Teeth
It is important to understand tooth growth in order to help your children. This can be divided into three phases: (1) the period during which the crown of the tooth is formed from tissue cells and calcifies or hardens in the jawbone; (2) the period of eruption, when the tooth first becomes visible and root development is in progress; and (3) the period of maintenance, when root formation is completed and the crown of the tooth is fully visible.
Most permanent teeth are between the ages of eight and 10 when they are fully developed. They are formed in the jawbone itself for a portion of this time. While the child is still in the mother’s womb, all of the primary or baby teeth begin to form. These primary tooth buds begin to grow as early as the second or third month of pregnancy. Six-year molars, or permanent teeth, begin to develop between the seventh intrauterine month and birth. From this point until around the age of three, the crown grows to adult size and becomes calcified.
The tooth normally emerges into the mouth between the ages of six and seven, but the root of the tooth does not fully develop until the age of nine or 10. Consider this: It’s been ten years in the making! They were clearly built to last a long time.
During this phase of development, there is a lot that can be done to influence these teeth to grow into healthy structures.
Factors Influencing Nutrition
When you consider that the permanent teeth develop behind the gum tissue in the jawbone for up to half of the period, you can see how important nutrition is in establishing healthy teeth. “The incidence of tooth decay, in particular, has been demonstrated to be associated to specific nutritional deficiencies that occur throughout tooth development,” according to dental study.
Teeth serve as a permanent record of an individual’s dietary state in the past. Yes, a lack of sufficient nutrient building blocks during tooth development may produce some weakening in the final structure, allowing the teeth to deteriorate more easily.
While the child is still in the mother’s womb, nearly all of the primary teeth and some of the permanent teeth begin to grow. As a result, the mother requires sufficient nutrition, maybe supplementing her diet with vitamins and minerals, to ensure healthy growth and development of not only the teeth but also other tissues of the body.
Parental influence can and should be especially well directed when the child is born and begins eating for himself. The best time to start creating healthy eating habits is in childhood.
Every day, a good variety of essential foodstuffs, including items from the main dietary groups: proteins, carbs, and fats, should be included in the diet. Even if the foods consumed in different parts of the world vary greatly, it is a good idea for parents to encourage their children to consume fresh fruits and vegetables. Raw fruits and vegetables offer a number of benefits that refined and processed diets may not always supply. They not only give healthy nutrients, but they also encourage tooth and gum activity due to their texture, which necessitates prolonged chewing. Make sure the youngster eats what is good for him, not just what he enjoys.
Other factors that influence the development of healthy teeth include inheritance and disease. However, you have little control on these, so your efforts should be focused primarily on the areas where they will be most effective. Of course, there is no universal diet that can keep your child’s teeth decay-free for the rest of his life, but certain foods are far superior to others.
Following the eruption of the teeth
So far, we’ve mostly talked about ways to help your child develop healthy teeth. The environment of the tooth changes dramatically as it begins to emerge from the mouth. Food and acid-forming bacteria can now attack it, breaking through even the hardest enamel and finally causing a cavity. Some teeth are so badly damaged that they must be extracted.
There are two obvious strategies to counteract the destructive effects of acid attacks: Refined sugars should be avoided to a significant extent, and teeth should be carefully cleaned.
Modern diets are high in refined sugars and quickly fermentable carbohydrates like sucrose. These, when combined with specific types of bacteria, can be extremely destructive to tooth structure. Dental researchers have shown that eating too much of these carbs hastens the progression of tooth decay. On the other hand, if children’s consumption of processed foods is limited or even eliminated, the pace of deterioration is slowed or even stopped.
Some children are far more prone to cavities than others. The decay rate varies greatly from child to child, but the truth remains that much of the decay problem is linked to sweets consumption.
A successful programme for reducing sweets consumption begins with the parents. Parents who eat a lot of cookies, chocolates, and cakes will have a difficult time convincing their children not to do the same. Children develop a sweet tooth at a young age. Poor eating habits will result if such foods are kept around the house all the time and are easily accessible. This does not imply that sweets must be completely avoided. Cleaning up after such snacks can also be an excellent method to reduce cavities.
Cleaning Techniques
Brushing one’s teeth can usually be taught to a youngster as young as two years old and no later than three. Parental monitoring is, of course, essential. It is also a good idea for parents to clean their teeth at the same time to set a good example. This also encourages the child to continue brushing his teeth as part of his regular practise.
After the child has had his turn, the parent may wish to go over the teeth again to ensure that a thorough job has been done. At that age, the tops or biting surfaces of all rear or molar teeth are of particular concern.
Because they are not brushed correctly, the cheek and tongue sides of such teeth, along the gumline, usually deteriorate. Food particles are permitted to accumulate in this area, resulting in a white ring around the teeth. Even after the food is gone, the acid from the food and bacteria in the enamel may leave a white ring as evidence of decay activity. Brushing your teeth properly can help to avoid this from happening.
A thorough cleaning of the teeth with a toothbrush takes practise and a lot of effort. A child’s mouth normally contains twenty primary or baby teeth by the age of three. There are five surfaces on each of these teeth that need to be cleaned. That’s a total of one hundred tooth surfaces that require treatment. There are 32 teeth or 160 surfaces to clean in the permanent set of teeth. Consider that the next time you reach for your toothbrush!
Brushing one’s teeth is arguably the most common method of cleaning one’s teeth. Brushing in any way is insufficient. The dental profession promotes a number of ways.
“Effectiveness of oral hygiene practises is more a function of skill and effort than of materials utilised,”
according to the November 1969 Journal of the American Dental Association. With experience, you can improve your technique as well as the amount of work you put into cleaning your teeth.
Any additional means for cleaning teeth, such as the use of dental floss or tape, toothpicks, and interdental stimulators, should be performed prior to brushing, especially if a medicated dentifrice is used. These cleaning solutions must be able to reach the teeth in order to be effective.
Dental floss is arguably the most effective tool for cleaning between the teeth. It can dislodge food particles and dirt that a toothbrush would never reach since it can be softly pulled down in between the teeth. This is significant because the majority of tooth decay and periodontal disease begin between the teeth. Flossing should be followed by vigorous rinsing to remove any loose particles. If this treatment is followed by a thorough cleaning of the teeth and gums, the mouth will feel clean and refreshed.
There will be occasions when a person will be caught without his toothbrush and toothpaste. When this occurs, a clean, rough washcloth can be used to do an emergency cleaning. When no alternative option is available, mouth rinse will help to some extent.
Decay of Teeth
Small dark-colored spots in the grooves and crevices of the biting surfaces will indicate decayed areas. They can also be seen as dark-gray spots between the teeth. Food can become trapped in these little cracks and crevices and be difficult to remove. An acid substance is created as the bacteria in the mouth begin to attack on it. This acid is what causes the harm. Of course, multiple acid attacks are required to eventually break through the outer enamel surface. As it enters the dentin, the inner tooth structure, the process accelerates significantly since the dentin is much softer.
So the moment to halt the process is before it begins, by promptly removing food particles, particularly carbohydrates, from the teeth. This includes educating children to brush their teeth after snacks as well as after meals.
Brush any questionable places with a stiff bristle brush. If the region is still dark or discoloured after brushing carefully, a trip to the dentist is in order. When a cavity is detected, the smaller it is, the easier it is to heal.
Whether or whether your child has cavities, the age of three is a suitable time for his or her first visit to the dentist. By this age, all of the primary teeth (twenty) have fully erupted into the mouth and require frequent care to be healthy.
Each primary tooth serves as a placeholder for the permanent tooth that is forming in the jawbone beneath it. When a primary tooth is lost due to decay or other causes before the permanent tooth is ready to erupt, the teeth tend to pack together. As a result, there may not be enough space for the permanent tooth.
Much more expensive tooth-straightening work can be avoided by encouraging your children to keep all primary teeth for as long as they were meant to be there. This also applies to permanent teeth. If one is misplaced, it is best to have it replaced. Of course, you may live without a replacement for a while, but the missing tooth eventually causes other issues, such as teeth shifting out of appropriate position or alignment, causing food to accumulate in between.
As a result, there are numerous elements that contribute to the development and maintenance of healthy teeth. Some of these things are within your control. Why not start teaching your children about basic dental care at a young age? They will be eternally thankful.