Know the Causes of Dental Caries in Children

Caries or tooth decay is a dental problem that often occurs in children. Parents' unawareness of the symptoms of dental caries in children and minimal knowledge regarding prevention efforts are often the cause of this problem. The causal factors mostly come from food and the habits of children who are reluctant to brush their teeth, while parents do not have tricks to persuade their children. As a result, germs are more free to multiply while food scraps are free to accumulate between the teeth that cannot be reached with a brush.

What is dental caries in children?

Dental caries in children is a condition that occurs when a child's teeth are damaged. This condition causes porous teeth, cavities, and looks black.

The two most common types of tooth decay in children are rampant caries and bottle caries. Both look similar, but have different characteristics.

Child caries needs serious treatment. If left unchecked, this condition can interfere with nutritional intake, speaking ability, and the development of children's teeth

Causes of Dental Caries in Children

• The condition of dental caries that occurs in children affects oral health until he becomes an adult. As a means of prevention, you should first know what causes problems with these teeth. Recognize triggers such as the following:
• The habit of breastfeeding from a bottle or using a pacifier until the child falls asleep causes bacterial deposits from the sweet drink in the child's mouth. These deposits trigger holes of varying degrees of severity.
• Often giving children sweet foods and drinks without cleaning the mouth area afterward, this can cause serious problems with teeth.
• Not getting used to children brushing their teeth can make the development of bad bacteria more aggressive.

Here are some symptoms that are a sign of dental caries in children.

• Pain in the area around the teeth.
• Children's teeth become more sensitive to sweet, cold, or hot foods or drinks.
• White spots on the teeth which are the initial signs of damage to the enamel (the outermost layer of the teeth).
• The appearance of small holes in the teeth, usually light brown.
• The hole in the tooth gets deeper and changes color to blackish brown.

The impact of caries on children if left unchecked will result in caries reaching the tooth pulp and causing pain. Pain will have an impact on the child's laziness to chew food so that the child's nutritional intake will decrease and affect the child's growth and development. Dental caries that is not treated besides being painful over time can also cause swelling due to the formation of pus that comes from the tooth.

If the condition of the tooth is very severe and eventually the milk teeth are forced to be removed before their due date, this will result in a shift in the space for the permanent teeth that will grow so that they can cause malposition of the permanent teeth. Given the magnitude of the impact of untreated dental caries, it is best to immediately go to the dentist/dentist specialist in pediatric dentistry (pedodontist) to fill the teeth with caries.