Milk Teeth Need your Attention!

Many grown up patients visit dental clinics with dental problems which could have been best managed when they were little kids.

There is a misconception about ‘milk teeth being less important’ as they will fall out & be replaced by permanent teeth. But it is extremely important to keep milk teeth clean & healthy. Here are few reasons:

• • Milk teeth create space for the permanent teeth to grow in the right direction, helping in the development of a proper jaw.
  • Without them, a child cannot form simple words to communicate & speak clearly.
  • Help children to chew & grind their food properly, thereby helping the child get proper nutrition & good digestion.

Parents should understand that dental & oral care is a must & should start at an early age for every child. Here are a few points that parents & grandparents should remember:

• • As and when the kid demands, parents feed them. This is not followed by wiping or cleaning of the kid’s teeth. Kids often sleep with pacifiers or feeding bottles in their mouth, this may result in tooth decay.
  • There is a high consumption of chocolates, candies, & other sweet items by kids due to the availability of a large variety. Absence of proper oral & dental hygiene after eating such things can lead to oral & dental health issues.
  • Kids should be well trained to brush their teeth twice a day & rinse their mouth after every meal.
  • Kids should visit the dentist for a regular check-up, not only when there is a problem.

Neglecting regular dental consultation for timely & appropriate intervention by the dentist may result in problems such as crowding, spacing between teeth, overstrained milk teeth, impacted permanent teeth, crossbite in front or back teeth which would require extensive & elaborate dental treatments later in life.

Today’s dental setups are fully prepared to diagnose & impart timely treatment required for your child’s dental requirements by using intraoral cameras, scanners, dental OPG & CBCT.

The teeth affected by caries can be saved with topical fluoride application, with the help of root canal treatment, preformed strip crowns & stainless steel or tooth coloured zirconia crown.

 If due to any reason the milk tooth needs to be removed before it’s due time, then a fixed space maintainer must be placed so that the adjoining teeth do not move in that empty space & block the way of the unerupted permanent.

Habits like thumb sucking & reverse swallowing patterns, mouth breathing in children also lead to dental & jaw related problems. Timely intervention & use of habit breaking appliances are highly effective in managing such cases.

It is equally important to understand if a child needs orthodontic treatment (to straighten or move teeth, to improve their looks and functionality), there are certain conditions which are best managed before the cessation of growth spurts which usually ends by 15 years age.