Prevention
Saving Space
Orthodontists are always worrying about space. When we are lucky, and this is most of the time, there is just the right amount of space for the top teeth and the bottom teeth to come together properly when all the teeth touch and are nice and straight.
The primary baby teeth are important for chewing and biting and speaking and especially for maintaining the space needed for the future permanent adult teeth.
Icy Tooth Accidents in Oregon
With winter coming to Oregon, it is time to think about preventing falls that damage teeth.
Icy hills are lots of fun to slide down but those smiles can quickly turn to frowns and tears with a bad fall.
If your child gets into an accident that damages teeth, follow these steps:
- Check that there are no skull, neck, or back injuries first.
Plaque in Portland
Most people have heard about dental plaque but not everyone knows what it is.
Dental plaque is a thick sticky waterproof cream-colored coating that develops on teeth over time. It is made up of bacteria and their wastes with saliva components.
Sticky mucopolysaccharides are the mortar of dental plaque. They protect the bacteria by gluing the whole colony to tooth enamel and making them resistant to washing off with normal eating and drinking.
Cavities from Breast Feeding?
Mother’s breast milk is extremely healthy for infants because it provides immunity from common diseases and is very nutritious.
Some parents tell me that they have heard that it is impossible to get cavities from mother’s breast milk.
My experience shows me that although nursing is the best way to feed your infant, it is possible to get cavities while nursing. I have seen one year old children with cavities who have only drank mother’s milk.
Gum Infections in Portland
A four year old boy from Portland came in with his mother, complaining of swelling around his baby molar.
When I looked at it, I noticed that there was an infection around the last molar, next to where the permanent tooth develops.
Since it could be either an infection of the tooth that spread to the gingiva (gums) or an infection of the gums that could affect the developing teeth, we took an x-ray.
Flossing Braces
Keeping braces clean is so important to moving teeth that it bears repeating. Keeping braces clean is so important to moving teeth.
Why is it important you ask? To completely correct a badly positioned tooth, the tooth must slide the brace along the wire in the brace only a few millimeters.
That is NOT very far! Two years to move something the thickness of a pencil!
Mouth Sores
There are many different types of sores in children’s mouths:
- scratches
- burns
- erupting teeth
- herpangina sores
- canker sores
- cold sores
- cancer and other rare stuff
Let’s go through them one by one:
Scratches:
Sharp fingernails, toothbrushes, toys or rough food can cause scratches on the gums or palate (mouth roof). These scratches may either heal within a couple of days or turn into a canker sore (see below).
Saving Space
Baby teeth are useful for many things:
- chewing on things (not always a good thing)
- eating
- talking
- smiling
- guiding permanent teeth into proper position
- saving space for permanent teeth
It is a rare day in my pediatric dentistry practice when I do not have to think about the space available for permanent teeth to grow in properly. Sometimes I have to extract teeth to make room then hold the space open with a metal space maintainer.
Tartar or Calculus
You know that hard stuff that seems to grow on your teeth and that sounds screechy but makes your teeth feel nice and smooth when the dental hygienist scrapes it off?
That is calculus (Greek for ’small stone’) and also called tartar (but has nothing to do with the sauce).
Tartar forms by many days of mineral-containing saliva or spit washing over your teeth and calcifying any plaque on your teeth. Because plaque forms continuously, people who have lots of minerals in their saliva make more tartar.
Molar Sealants
Permanent molars usually have very deep pits, grooves, and fissures on the biting surface. These holes can be very difficult to keep clean so they are the most common place to get cavities.
In the 1970’s dentists started cleaning out these pits and fissures then squirting runny plastic into the cleaned out grooves to keep bacteria from growing there. This procedure is called a dental pit and fissure sealant.
- Expanding Your Palate
- Crossbites
- Saving Space
- Treating Portland Pulps & Root Canals
- When to Start Kids Braces?
- Super Orthodontic Wires
- Icy Tooth Accidents in Oregon
- Plaque in Portland
- Cavities from Breast Feeding?
- Gum Infections in Portland
- Flossing Braces
- Invisible Braces for Teens
- Mouth Sores
- Tears & Fears
- When to Start Braces
