Importance of milk teeth | Caries in small children

Importance of milk teeth

Many people underestimate the important role of milk teeth, as they fall out again anyway and new teeth follow. However, this is not correct, because the condition of the milk teeth is already important for the condition of the future dentition. If a milk tooth is already badly damaged and constantly affected by caries, the risk of the permanent teeth having to fight more caries increases.

The milk tooth phase is also a time when parents should teach their children how important it is to brush their teeth regularly and why. Milk teeth are not only important for the crushing of food, but also for the protection of the permanent teeth, whose structure is already present in the jaw, and for the position of the milk teeth to find their own position later on. They can be seen as a kind of placeholder. If milk teeth fall out very early, due to caries or due to a fall, the gap must be closed adequately, otherwise tooth malpositions and problems in the entire chewing system can occur. Since they are also important for speech formation, their preservation must be ensured so that you can have a shining set of teeth and a clean pronunciation for the rest of your life.

Caries treatment

It is not always easy to detect caries in oneself or in one’s children, as often simple discolorations can be misunderstood. However, one should check the daily dental care of the child and even if he or she already brushes the teeth by himself or herself, one should take a control look into the oral cavity from time to time, because children do not notice changes themselves and only express themselves when they already cause pain. As a rule, the control appointments with the dentist should be kept, because only the dentist can take a professional look into the oral cavity and diagnose caries at an early stage.

An appointment at the dentist is always the best way to confirm or rule out the suspicion of a possible caries. A caries should always be treated. The dentist will initiate the necessary treatment steps in case of existing caries.

Great caution is required, especially with children, as they are often anxious and the treatment at the dentist is perceived as very unpleasant. The caries will be removed and then a filling will be applied. To prevent possible pain, a local anaesthetic can be used.