Etiology of Dental Caries

Caries is a bacterial disease that can start early in a human’s life. The worst is that it can last throughout the life and lead to the loss of teeth. Etiology of dental caries spreads on many reasons. It was found out that the bacteria are carried over by mother to the child during 19-28 months of age. If the baby does not acquire mutans streptococci in this period, the baby will not suffer from this dental disease.

The frequently met bacteria in dental diseases are gram negative anaerobes. They form a community on the teeth. The plaque sticks to the surface of the tooth inside the mouth and increases in its amount daily. It is able to ferment sugars and lots of other carbohydrates producing acids. The acid will destroy the tooth enamel. If the necessary measures will not be taken, the problem will grow into a serious one.

Dental Caries in Children

Children can face with caries right after their first teeth erupt. Only to remind, this happens at the age of 5-6 months. If the disease is not cured in time, it can lead to serious teeth destruction. ECC (early childhood caries) can be the result of prolonged bottle use with food containing carbohydrates. Besides, dental caries in children can be entailed by defects in the immune defense system, incorrect exposure to fluoride, lack of oral hygiene, absence of regular dental services, liquid medications etc. Show your child to New York city dentists and they will help to determine the reason.

Usually, the number of filled, decayed and missing teeth is counted. The studies are usually conducted in schools, so the information about the issue under the age of six is often less available. Some researchers found out that 49% of 4-year-old kids, 25% of 3-year-old children, 20% of 2-year-olds and 6.4% of infants had dental cavities.

Thankfully to the use of fluorides, the reduction in decay in children was observed since the 1960s. Though, dentists in NY assure that dental caries is still one of the most frequently met diseases in kids. According to the reports, it is met in 6 of 10 kids by the age of 5. Even asthma is not as common as caries is.

Dental Caries Treatment

Methods of diagnostics include x-rays and radiographs, but more successful technologies are being developed. Treatment of dental caries includes dental sealing, fluorides, xylitol (a substitute of sugar) and combination of sealing, fluoride and chlorhexidine. Health education is also important. Fluoride toothpaste and gels, chewing gum with xylitol are highly recommended preventive measures. If all the treatment options are combined, the result will be better. It is essential to determine whether the patient is in the group of caries risk or no in the early childhood.