Our team wants to help your kids enjoy a bright and healthy smile, and one free of painful cavities. Which is why we take a preventive approach to children’s dentistry. In today’s blog, your team at Lake Orion Family Dentistry talks about preventing childhood cavities with fluoride and dental sealants.
Childhood Cavities
How do cavities form in a child’s smile? When kids enjoy lots of snacks and drinks high in sugar, this leaves behind particles stuck on or between the teeth. Bacteria then break these down, which elevates oral acidity and coats the teeth in plaque, a sticky layer that weakens and erodes the outer enamel to make cavities possible. Injuries to the teeth and teeth grinding could also be a factor, as these issues can compromise outer enamel.
When tooth decay forms, this could lead to painful symptoms, and eventually, the risk of infection and possibly premature tooth loss, itself a factor in the onset of misalignment! But we can help prevent the onset of cavities in little smiles!
Fluoride Treatments
One way to protect little smiles is with fluoride. This is a naturally occurring material that has been shown to strengthen the outer enamel, and help prevent tooth decay. We can apply this in a varnish form to the teeth during their six-month checkup and cleaning visit. This then coats the teeth and makes the enamel stronger and more resistant to tooth decay. This is the same reason we also suggest fluoride toothpaste for kids. Children under the age of three should use a rice-sized amount, and kids over the age of three should use a pea-sized amount.
Dental Sealants
To help protect smiles for months or even years at a time, we could also apply dental sealants to little smiles. This involves applying a thin acrylic layer to the rear teeth, the ones that are often difficult for kids to reach when they brush and floss. Once we apply the material and cure it, this can stay in place for years to come, often for a decade, and in that time prevent food and drink particles from being caught where a toothbrush and floss cannot remove them. This helps fight tooth decay.
If you have any questions about how we protect little smiles from the onset of tooth decay with fluoride and dental sealants, then contact our team today. We look forward to helping your kids enjoy healthy smiles all summer long, so reach out today to set up their next checkup and cleaning visit.
Lake Orion Family Dentistry Provides Care for Children
Our team wants to help protect kids from the onset of tooth decay! To find out more about children’s dentistry, or to schedule an appointment, call Lake Orion Family Dentistry in Lake Orion, MI at (248)693-6213.
