How To Prevent Cavities In Your Child’s Smile

Posted September 5, 2024

In our last blog, we talked in detail about how we restore children’s teeth that sustain damage or tooth decay. In today’s blog, your Dallas, TX, pediatric dentist would like to take a different approach. We’re going to explain how to help prevent cavities with good oral hygiene and regular visits to our office, so your kids can enjoy better oral health and bright smiles!

The Factors Behind Tooth Decay

Cavities form in our teeth when the outer enamel has been compromised. This protective layer of enamel protects the sensitive inner dentin from exposure to bacteria. But when poor oral hygiene, including improper brushing and flossing and a diet high in sugar, creates plaque, this can weaken the outer enamel. Likewise, teeth grinding or injury could compromise the enamel and make the onset of cavities more likely. If you bring your child in for checkups and cleanings every six months, then we will likely catch the decay in the early stages, often before your child experiences discomfort. Otherwise, you may not know your little one needs treatment until a tooth begins to ache!

Prevention at Home

At home, you can help your children lower the risk of tooth decay. For example, make sure they brush in the morning and then again at night. Be sure they use an age-appropriate toothbrush, and fluoride toothpaste to strengthen the outer enamel. Kids three and younger need a rice sized amount of fluoride toothpaste, kids over the age of three should use a pea-sized amount. You can assist your toddler aged children, and monitor your older kids, timing them with sand timers, songs, or fun apps.

Flossing is crucial once there are teeth sitting side-by-side, as this removes what a toothbrush alone cannot. Kids should floss up and down each side of every tooth, dipping beneath the gum line. Young kids can use a floss pick, which is simpler for those with limited dexterity, and older kids can graduate to floss tape or string. What your kids eat and drink matters too! Foods high in sugar and starch can leave behind particles that feed harmful bacteria to cause plaque. Likewise, drinks with lots of sugars and acids, like sodas, fruit juices, sports drinks, and energy drinks, could also impact cavity risk.

Prevention in Our Office

Our team also offers preventive actions to lower the risk of cavities in-office. For example, every six months we want to clean the teeth, using an ultrasonic scaling device and a manual tool to gently and thoroughly break up and remove plaque and tartar. We then polish the smile, which brightens it but also limits the ability for plaque and tartar buildup to occur in between six-month visits. We also have unique treatments to lower the risk of tooth decay. With fluoride varnish, we apply a layer to the teeth in seconds during each checkup to keep enamel strong. We also have dental sealants, a thin acrylic coating we add to the rear teeth that prevents food and drink particles from being stuck between the teeth, lowering the risk of cavities. Both take seconds to apply, and kids need to avoid food and drink for about 30 minutes as the material cures.

Treatment for Tooth Decay

What if a cavity has formed? Even if this occurs in baby teeth destined to fall out, they could fall out months or even years to come, which means the decay has a chance to become infection that causes worsening pain and for some, premature tooth loss and a higher risk of misalignment. With a filling, we can add a metal-free and biocompatible composite resin restoration to the tooth, treating the decay and often matching the tooth. Placement only takes one visit! For more severe cases of tooth decay, we could attach a crown. We have stainless steel for the teeth in the back of the mouth that endure greater bite forces, and more lifelike NuSmile zirconia for front facing teeth. Should a tooth become an infected, we can offer a root canal alternative known as a pulpotomy to bring relief and save the tooth.

If you have any questions about how we prevent cavities and safeguard little smiles, then contact our team today to learn more and to schedule your child’s next visit.

Schedule a Visit for Preventive Dental Care

If you have questions about the steps we recommend to avoid cavities, or if you would like to schedule an appointment with our team, call your Dallas, TX pediatric dentist, Dr. Marr, at (214) 321-4880.