In Italy, tooth decay affects almost one child in two over the age of ten. How can we prevent it and protect our children’s smiles for years to come?
Tooth decay affects a growing number of children in our country: it is estimated to affect 3% of children under 2; the figure doubles under the age of 3, reaches 22% at age 4 and finally approaches 44% from the age of ten upwards. The main causes certainly include a diet too rich in sugars, starting as early as breastfeeding, poor hygiene and an almost total lack of prevention.
As far as diet is concerned, in childhood you should absolutely avoid dipping a dummy in sugar or honey and prolonged use of a bottle filled with milk and sugary drinks, especially at night, when saliva production is greatly reduced. Young children should never be put to sleep with a bottle, and bottle use should stop after the first year of life.
Prolonged breastfeeding is not risk-free either: the longer breastfeeding continues and the more feeds there are, the higher the risk of developing tooth decay. It is therefore recommended to always clean the gums and first teeth with sterile gauze after every feed, to remove milk residue.
As the child grows, try to limit sugar intake, avoiding sugary drinks, sweets and packaged snacks as much as possible. Eating too many carbohydrates upsets the natural balance of the bacterial flora, causing bacteria to multiply and plaque to form.
Besides the amount, you need to pay close attention to how often sugars are given, because frequent intake, even in small amounts, feeds the bacterial colonies and leads to repeated acid attacks.
As for prevention, children should be taken to a paediatric dentist for their first check-up at around 2 years of age, as soon as all the baby teeth have come through. In reality very few families do so. This is partly due to the lack of a national health plan providing dental care for everyone, and partly to fear of the dentist, which affects one child in seven and leads to check-ups and treatment being postponed, even though anxiety and pain can easily be controlled with light sedation.
It is very important, instead, to see a paediatric dentist as early as possible. They will check that all the baby teeth have come through without anomalies and will teach the child how to look after their own oral hygiene properly.
In addition, when the molars, the child’s first permanent teeth, come through at around 6 to 7 years of age, the paediatric dentist may suggest fissure sealing, a quick, safe and painless procedure. During sealing, the grooves on the teeth are filled with a white resin that bonds perfectly to the enamel, protecting it from bacterial attack. The resin used is completely non-toxic, releases no harmful substances, and neither damages nor yellows the teeth.
Daily hygiene, a healthy diet and scheduled check-ups as the child grows are therefore the winning moves to prevent tooth decay and avoid far more unpleasant and invasive treatment in the future.
Credits: Photo by Ekaterina Kartushina on Unsplash
