Importance of the primary dentition

As we know, Prevention is better than cure. At Shah Multi-speciality dental clinic we are most concerned with all aspect of preventive care so that every child has the right to grow with a healthy smile. Our goal is to make your child's experience as comfortable and positive as possible by creating a 'child-friendly' environment.

It is recommended that your child should see a dentist when the first tooth appears. Baby teeth are important as they not only hold space for the permanent teeth but are important for chewing, biting, speech and appearance. Parents play a vital role in the success of their child's dental health by showing their interest, understanding and motivation towards them.

A milk tooth usually stays in until a permanent tooth underneath pushes it out and takes its place. Unfortunately, some children loose their milk tooth too soon. If this happens, the teeth beside it may move into the empty space resulting in the lack of space for the permanent tooth to erupt and hence leads to irregular arrangement of teeth. This can be prevented by an early visit to the dentist. We also provide treatment under sedation for mentally challenged and uncooperative children.

As the children's permanent teeth erupts we provide fluoride and sealant treatment to prevent cavities. We also help children discontinue habits like tongue thrusting and thumb sucking by habit breaking appliances.

Problems that affect the oral health of children

Early childhood caries or baby bottle tooth decay

Also called early childhood caries, nursing caries, or Nursing Bottle Syndrome, Baby Bottle Tooth Decay is a result of a baby's teeth coming in frequent, prolonged contact with sugary drinks, such as fruit juices, milk, formula, and sugar water.

As with all foods, the sugar is broken down by bacteria in your mouth, producing a byproduct of acid. The acid then attacks your teeth and strips away the minerals found in your enamel, causing tooth decay.

Thumb sucking

You'd be hard pressed to find an infant that doesn't suck on something - whether it's their fingers or their pacifier. Generally, this habit isn't anything to be alarmed about, unless it continues until a later age. When a baby's permanent teeth begin to come in, sucking on an object can push the teeth out of alignment, causing them to protrude or create an overbite. Beyond the aesthetic consequences of sucking, it can also cause speech problems or teach children to eat incorrectly.

Tongue thrusting

Tongue thrusting is the habit of sealing the mouth for swallowing by thrusting the top of the tongue forward against the lips.

Like thumb sucking, tongue thrusting puts extra pressure against the front teeth, which could ultimately push them out of alignment, causing improper speech development, eating problems, and an overbite.

Lip sucking

Early tooth loss

If a child loses a baby tooth before the permanent teeth is ready to move in, it's generally because of tooth decay, injury, or lack of jaw space. If left untreated, the remaining teeth could crowd into the space intended for the permanent tooth.

Treatments of preventive dental problems for child

Root canal treatment in milk teeth

Space maintainers

Fluoride application

Pit and fissure sealing

The benefits of dental sealants include:

significantly reduced the risk of decay and the future need for fillings

prevent food and plaque from becoming trapped in teeth

smooth surface that's more easily cleaned