Children and caries: not only parents should know this!Carius and Baktus no longer scare children's teeth as they once did. Less and less Children and Adolescents in Germany suffer from toothache due to cavities in the milk teeth or the permanent teeth. But the situation is different for the very small ones. Early childhood Caries in children under the age of three is still a major problem. We provide information on the causes, treatment and prevention of caries – even in small children.
Where do the holes come from – what is caries??
Caries is a disease of the hard tooth substance. Tooth enamel, dentin and dental cement are the hardest materials in the body. But they are powerless against the aggressive caries bacteria. Once the bacteria have made their way inside the tooth, they gradually hollow it out from the inside. Not for nothing does caries mean "rottenness" in Latin.
Streptococcus mutans: Streptococcus mutans is a bacterial species that is mainly responsible for the development of caries. Every one of us has it in our saliva. The level of concentration is related to the risk of caries.
Particularly in children's teeth, caries bacteria have an easy time of it. The enamel of milk teeth and the first permanent teeth is not yet stable enough to resist bacteria. Only about three years after the teeth have erupted can they provide adequate protection.
How caries develops?
Up to 20. In the nineteenth century, some peoples still believed that a toothworm would cause toothache and caries holes. In the meantime, the fairy tale is no more than a means of exerting prere when the child once again does not want to brush its teeth. In fact, tooth decay is mainly caused by poor dental hygiene and a sugary diet.
Acid is the danger – not sugar
Plaque is formed from food debris and oral mucosa cells. Caries bacteria feel particularly at home in this dental plaque. When we eat something sweet, they digest the sugar (carbohydrates) into acid. This acid attacks the tooth enamel. Dissolves important minerals from the protective coating of the teeth. The result: the teeth become vulnerable!
At first only white spots are visible. But without help from the dentist or better oral care, tooth decay can spread to the inside of the tooth.
This is where the risk of caries lurks in children, for example:
Teat bottles with sugary drinks Dip pacifiers in honey Squeeze bottles with fruit pulp
By the way, if your child has problems with tooth decay, don't blame it on bad genes! At most, the bad behavior patterns that lead to cavities are inherited.
MIH makes children's teeth crumble
A high caries risk also arises from so-called molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH). About 10% of elementary school children in Germany are affected by this disease of the tooth structure. Teeth are stained, porous and have less resistant enamel than healthy molars. This makes them not only extremely sensitive to temperature, but also particularly susceptible to caries bacteria. Caries in children despite brushing is also possible!
Is caries contagious?
Doctors have been arguing for years about whether or not tooth decay is an infectious disease. One thing is certain: There are no caries bacteria in the mouth of a newborn baby. These bacteria only enter the oral cavity through transmission from mom or dad – together with up to 1000 other germs.
"With caries, only about a handful of germs (note. d. Red. Flora of the oral cavity. Are perfectly compatible with dental health. Caries is not caused by these germs, but by our excessively sugary diet, which allows certain bacteria to gain the upper hand. The European Society for Caries Research ORCA also recognized this last year and no longer considers caries to be an infectious disease." Source: German Dental Association
How tooth decay ruins children's teeth
Caries on the milk teeth can dangerously slow down the development of the bite. The holes not only hurt a lot, but also damage the permanent teeth. The milk teeth are placeholders for the following teeth. Also ensure healthy development of the jaws.
If a baby tooth falls out, the jawbone cannot form properly in this place. It lacks load. Jaw misalignment and an incorrect bite position can be the result. At the latest in adolescence, the maldevelopment must be corrected at great expense by the orthodontist. This is unfavorable: for the wallet and the health.
How can caries be prevented??
That's why parents should definitely start brushing when the first tooth erupts. Special toothbrushes for children are suitable here. A fluoride toothpaste. Please consult the experts at your dentist's office for advice on this matter. Teeth should be cleaned at least twice a day. It is advisable to visit the dentist in the early years to keep an eye on the development of teeth and jaws.
Tips for healthy snacking
In addition to good dental hygiene, the diet should also be right. Snacking can. Should not be forbidden. It depends on the amount.
Here are some tips for healthy snacking:
The tooth man marks sugar-free foods Snack in a concentrated way – not spread out over the day After snacking, chew sugar-free gum
Fire sealing is also an effective protection against caries in children's teeth. The dentist applies a liquid resin to the molars and closes deep grooves in which bacteria can quickly colonize. Even if caries has already attacked the tooth, fire sealing helps.
How tooth decay has developed in children, adolescents and young adults? Prophylaxis is having an effect: Fewer and fewer children. Young people suffer from tooth decay. This is also shown by the results of the Fifth German Oral Health Study (DMS V):
Eight out of ten of 12-year-old children (81 percent) are now caries-free. The number of caries-free teeth doubled between 1997 and 2014. Among younger adults (35- to 44-year-olds), the number of teeth with caries experience has decreased by 30 percent since 1997 (4.9 teeth). Only half as many younger adults (35- to 44-year-olds) still have caries disease of the tooth root compared to 1997.
Caries in young children is a problem
However, many parents still wait too long with the first visit to the dentist. The German National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds ames that on average only one in three children under the age of six goes for preventive care. The result: early childhood caries, which particularly affects children under three years of age.
"Currently, early childhood caries is considered the most frequent chronic disease (five times more frequent than asthma, seven times more frequent than hay fever) in preschool age and dominates with sometimes massive destruction of the dentition of the overall condition in young children," writes the North Rhine Chamber of Dentists.
Signs of early childhood caries:
Dental plaque gingivitis chalky white changes to enamel
Teething for too long increases caries risk
Especially too frequent sucking of sugary drinks causes trouble for the little teeth. If parents are not serious about brushing their children's teeth, these are ideal conditions for caries bacteria.
To give children's teeth a caries-free start in life, parents should schedule a visit to the dentist's office when their first tooth erupts.
5 dental myths that have to do with more than just tooth decay
Fluorides are not important! Fluorides strengthen our teeth. Protect reliably against caries. Teeth should be treated with fluoride already in childhood. This can be done, for example, with a special toothpaste. Brushing your teeth for two minutes is enough! How long teeth should be brushed depends on individual oral health. There is no general recommendation. Every child costs a tooth! Due to the changed hormonal balance, pregnant women are more susceptible to inflammations in the mouth. However, if the expectant mother goes to prophylaxis in time and regularly, she will certainly survive the pregnancy without losing her teeth. Firm scrubbing brings more! Scrubbing hard over gums and teeth risks permanent damage. Power scrubbers can damage gums. Damage tooth enamel by pressing on it too hard. Tips on the correct brushing technique are available in the dental practice. Professional teeth cleaning does no good! Dental care at home is not sufficient to remain permanently healthy. PZR is important to remove bacteria even in places where the toothbrush can't reach.
If you want to know more about the protection against caries in children's teeth, you should ask in your practice. The professionals will be happy to give you tips on how to control the caries bacteria in your children's mouths. The dentist and his team explain in a child-friendly way how caries can best be prevented.
By the way: You surely know the yellow booklet in which the medical check-ups of the children are documented. Since July 2016, referrals to contract dental examinations have also been documented here by checkboxes. Source: KZBV
– German Dental Association: German Oral Health Study (DMS) – German Dental Association: Healthy starts in the mouth – Facts against myths – KZBV: Dental care in children – Prodente: Caries most common disease worldwide – Planet Wissen: Caries and periodontosis
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6 comments to "Children and caries: not only parents should know about it!"
Your side is terrible! One accusation of the parents after another. Be it the pregnancy, the teeth of the children, the infection, which only takes place through mom or dad. There would be no bad disposition only badly passed on behavior patterns. The only thing they achieve is that those who seek help have even less confidence in dentists. Despite the possibility to buy so many different and cheap oral hygiene products as never before – and they will be, otherwise the market would not be so full of them – so many people have caries. Despite cleaning training in kindergarten, at school, at the dentist, tooth decay is so common. – What is being trained? Perhaps dentists should take themselves by the nose and ask themselves whether training courses and prophylactic treatments are not as effective as they are trumpeted to be. Before they publish such condescending blame, they better do their homework – without dollar signs in their eyes.
Dear Ms / Mr CWdz,
thank you for your honest words, which we of course respect, though we do not share in any way.
Our primary concern is to provide education based on comprehensively researched facts (this does not mean that we believe every expert opinion and every "study"), because we know about the problem from our own experience and from many conversations and meetings with dentists. Knowledge of the interrelationships of oral health and behavior in everyday life is nowhere near as developed as we would all like it to be.
But this is our opinion, which of course you do not have to share. Text on it once again. Check it for your statements.
To what extent the concepts of preventive care are effective in the practices? The figures on the development of caries speak rather in favor of this, but here, of course, every dentist is responsible himself. Perhaps the many oral hygiene products are also responsible, which promise a health effect with advertising messages, which is not always so durable (no one can clean the teeth at home "as at the dentist") – here are then rather the dollar signs on the part of the industry to find. Information Oral Health is a non-profit portal!
Best regards and a Merry Christmas Klaus Schenkmann, Editorial Director
Super answer. I find your site very helpful, have a 3 year old son who has a brown molar in the back. I have not felt attacked in any way. Better cleaning is always possible, especially when it's a struggle every time… I found it particularly interesting that fires can be sealed… And if it costs something? So what?? My child's healthy teeth are worth that to me. My beautiful teeth are/were also not in vain.
Great article! Thank you for your comprehensive and professional presentation of the topic!
Hello Christoph, thank you very much for the nice review!
Hello Christoph, thank you for your great feed-back!
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