Naturally, a parent always wants what’s best for their child. Their oral health falls in the same category. Their tooth and speech development is vitally important to growing healthily as they get older. Doing this will allow them to look after their teeth once they’re able to.
It is important to address that your child will likely experience some dental problems when they’re young, but this is common amongst all children.
So, what are the popular and common dental problems in children? Lets take a look!
Impacted Tooth Development Through Thumb Sucking
Toddlers naturally perform thumb sucking as a habit. This is done to soothe any of their anxieties but can then become a progressive habit. Thumb sucking is a bad habit because it impacts tooth development, particularly the positioning of the teeth as it grows. This can introduce potential misalignment or overbite, making it difficult to bite and chew down on food without damaging teeth.
Cavities
Cavities form when dental plaque builds and coats around teeth. Bacteria within the plaque can combine with sugars to cause an acid attack. This can cause cavities, which are tiny holes at the center of the tooth. This is caused by poor brushing, a lack of care for the mouth, and feeding your child with sugary treats too much. A dental filling is the natural choice of treatment to fill the hole.
Tooth Decay
Bacteria and plaque can build in the mouth every so often if kids’ oral routine isn’t strong enough. As time goes on, this will continue and tooth decay will eventually form. The dentist will need to drill away through the decay and apply a filling. Although, the decay may become more severe and your tooth will require extraction. This can cause significant complications to your kid’s tooth development as they get older, and will require multiple dental appointments regularly.
Wisdom Teeth
Wisdom teeth can occur at any time. They typically erupt during the late teenage years. They are called third molars and can form at an early age of 7 years. Wisdom teeth are known as impacted teeth as they do not erupt from the gum properly. Kids will experience sensitivity and swelling which are natural wisdom teeth symptoms. Wisdom teeth will need to be removed so that their neighbouring teeth do not get impacted.
Gum Disease
Gum disease is also common in kids as well. Bleeding and swollen gums are a sign of gingivitis, and the reason for this is not brushing teeth properly and eating too many treats containing high volumes of sugar. This will be an eye-opener for your kids to ensure that you manage their diet accordingly by incorporating plant-based foods and calcium. These two properties are important for enamel to remain strong.
Dental Anxieties And Phobias
Kids also naturally experience dental anxieties and phobias. This is particularly if they’re not used to anything new yet, or something part of their appointment that they don’t like. As a parent, it is important that you’re a role model and that you nurture them past any of these concerns so it progressively becomes easier for them to look after their teeth as they get older.
Common dental problems in children can be anything, but these are the most common ones that can occur. Are you seeking to book an appointment for your child at the dentist? At Complete Family Dental, we would be delighted to welcome your child to our practice. Contact us now and book an appointment.