Just like permanent teeth, decay can occur in deciduous teeth in childhood due to inadequate oral and dental care. Sometimes, due to external factors such as falls and bumps, fractures occur in milk teeth and the need for treatment arises.

Preventive dentistry practices are of great importance in dental treatment of children. Since they are painless, short-term and do not cause dentist phobia; preventive dentistry applications are preferred for children’s first encounters with the dentist.

The preventive dentistry applications in our clinic are as follows:

Oral Hygiene Education and Regulation of Nutrition

Hygiene education, which includes teaching tooth brushing and flossing, reviewing eating habits and explaining the importance of oral and dental health, is as important for adults as it is for children.

Determination of Caries Risk Group

With the help of various techniques, children’s caries risk groups are identified and their susceptibility to tooth decay isdetermined. The aim is to identify and correct the factors that cause dental caries rather than treating dental caries.

Fissure Sealant Application

Tooth decay usually starts in the grooves called “fissures” on the chewing surfaces of molars and premolars. Fissure sealants create a surface on the teeth that reduces food retention and makes brushing easier. This prevents germs and food residues from seeping into that area and prevents the onset of caries. This procedure should be applied to all newly erupted molars and premolars before decay begins.

Fluor Application

Fluorine strengthens tooth enamel, protects teeth against acid attacks and helps prevent tooth decay. Superficial fluoride application is a preventive method that can only be applied by dentists. For children, it is available in various forms such as gel, mouthwash, varnish and various flavors such as strawberry, apricot, orange.
Fluoride should be applied regularly at intervals of 3 or 6 months in accordance with the caries risk group of the pediatric patient.

What is Tooth Mousse?

It is a water-based, sugar-free, superficially applied cream that prevents caries formation by providing intraoral acid balance. It is recommended as a preventive against caries formation thanks to its milk protein casein, calcium and phosphate ions.

What is the Placeholder Application?

Milk teeth that are too decayed to be treated should be extracted and removed from the mouth. Since the deciduous teeth removed from the mouth will be replaced by a permanent tooth after a while, it is necessary to maintain the distance of that space. For this purpose, apparatus called space maintainers should be applied to the gaps of extracted milk teeth. Otherwise, the teeth to the right and left of the cavity will slide into the cavity of the extracted milk tooth and close the place where the permanent tooth will erupt. In later years, very long and costly treatments may be required to correct the tooth alignment. However, the time and cost of fitting a small space maintainer appliance is negligible compared to the others.

Oral Habits that can Disrupt Jaw Development in Children

Finger-Pacifier Sucking

Until the age of two, all sucking habits are normal and are usually stopped spontaneously. Since sucking habits that continue until the age of four can lead to permanent deformations of the teeth and jaws, the habit should be stopped as soon as possible.

The finger placed between the front incisors causes the upper front teeth to tilt forward and the teeth to be spaced, while the lower front incisors are positioned backwards. When the child is 7-8 years old, a special appliance called a habit breakercan be applied.

Mouth Breathing

Respiratory problems have a negative impact on jaw development. If breathing is not through the nose, but only through the mouth (this is better understood during sleep), an otolaryngologist should be consulted. Continued mouth breathing causes both orthodontic problems and an increase in dental caries due to dry mouth.