Preventive dentistry approaches and treatments in children consist of the following topics:
» Brushing
» Follow-up of tooth development
» Gaining the habit of using dental floss
» Informing the family
» Proper nutrition
» Detection and prevention of bad habits
» Fluorine applications
» Fissure sealant applications
» Placeholder applications
» Providing protection from trauma and impacts
What is the importance of preventive dentistry?
Preventive dentistry provides a healthy and beautiful smile for your child. Children with a healthy mouth chew more comfortably and easily; They take the nutritional values of the meals fully and effectively. They comprehend speech more quickly and intelligibly. Their general health is also better, as there is no disease in their mouth that threatens other parts of the body. Because a healthy mouth looks good,
He is very confident in himself and his appearance. Except those; Preventive dentistry is a less tiring and cheaper treatment approach.
When should preventive dentistry start?
Preventive dentistry starts with the eruption of the first teeth in the mouth. See your dentist once your child's first tooth erupts. Thus, you can have information about protecting oral health. The sooner your visit to the dentist starts, the higher your chance of protecting your child's dental diseases, the more you will be able to take precautions before caries occurs and raise a healthy generation without caries.
What is the role of the family in preventive dentistry?
After your child's dental health is fully ensured, your dentist will inform your child about brushing, flossing, the family's diet and, if necessary, the use of fluoride so that he or she can maintain this health at home. In addition, by following and controlling the applications, you help your child gain these habits for life.
What is the dentist's contribution to preventive treatment?
Tooth brushing, flossing and fluoride applications are all applications for the protection of your child's dental health. But there are other treatments as well. For example, fissure sealant etc. applications are the methods frequently applied by dentists.
Fluorine applications:
Fluorine is a substance that the body needs as long as it is in certain proportions. Fluorine intake should start when the child is 0 years old and continue until 8 years old.
There are 2 ways fluorine enters the body:
The first way; Systemically, it occurs through drinking water, fruit juices, fluorine in foods and tablets or syrups containing fluorine. Systemically taken fluoride is stored on the surfaces during the development of the teeth and shows its effect for a long time. At the same time, it helps remineralization by adhering to dental plaque, that is, renewing the loss of material caused by caries in the structure of the tooth.
The second way of fluorine intake; be topical or local. Locally taken fluoride strengthens the existing teeth in the mouth and increases the resistance to caries by adhering to the tooth surfaces. Toothpastes, mouthwashes, and fluoride gels and pastes applied by dentists are examples of topical flora.
The caries preventive effect of fluorine is explained by 3 mechanisms by researchers:
1. It reduces the solubility of enamel, which is the top and thinnest layer of the tooth, in acid, by converting the hydroxyapetites in the tooth structure to soluble florapetite.
2. It helps to repair and heal the enamel layer of the tooth whose structure is deteriorated by acids.
3. It directly affects the plaque accumulated on the tooth and prevents it from producing acid.
The best way to benefit from this caries-reducing effect of fluorine is to use it systemically until the age of 8, when the formation of teeth is completed, and topically after this period until the eruption of permanent teeth. The ideal amount of fluoride determined by the American Dental Association; 0.7-1.2 mg/L (ppm). In cases where the amount of fluorine in drinking water is less than these doses, fluorine supplementation is needed. The doses to be used will already be determined by your pediatrician.
Topical fluorides applied professionally by your dentist are gels that contain fluorine and are applied to the mouth with plastic spoons. It is a very comfortable and easy fluoride application that is repeated every 3 or 6 months depending on the dosage used.
Fissure sealant applications:
Fissure sealants are aesthetic, transparent materials that are made to cut the relationship between the bacterial plaque and the chewing surfaces of the teeth, which are the most prone to decay, before the teeth decay.
Even if your child can effectively brush his teeth twice a day (morning and evening), it is difficult to clean very indented areas. Thanks to fissure sealants, these areas are isolated and protected from food and plaque accumulation and therefore the risk of caries formation. 6-year-old and 12-year-old teeth, which are the first permanent teeth to erupt in the mouth, are very important and are the teeth that carry the most risk in terms of food accumulation and caries development. For this reason, it is of great importance and necessity to apply fissure sealant, especially to these teeth.
Fissure sealant is a one-session, very easily applicable method. First, the tooth is cleaned, a chemical agent is applied and dried. After the fissure sealant, which is a fluid, transparent material, is applied to the tooth, it is hardened with a light filling device. It is okay for the child to eat after the application. Fissure sealant applications are much cheaper than caries treatment, and since there is no operation on the tooth, it is a trouble-free procedure for your child. After the fissure sealant is applied, the child should continue with the same oral care. The fissure sealant should be checked every 6 months. If necessary, an addition or renewal can be made.
Placeholder implementation:
Milk teeth fall out either as a result of the pressure exerted by the permanent tooth from below; or as a result of trauma or deep caries that cannot be treated, and as a result, premature tooth and space losses occur.
As a result of this, in order to fill the gap formed, it is possible that the adjacent teeth slide towards the gap, the permanent teeth that erupt from below cannot find a place to come out or they erupt in a different place. This leads to orthodontic problems. For this reason, we prevent these disorders that will cause problems in the future by wearing plastic or metal appliances, which we call placeholders.
There are two types of placeholders:
» Movable (child can take off and put on by himself)
» Fixed placeholders
Fixed Movable placeholders are the types that are made in the laboratory from an acrylic-based material compatible with the mouth of the child by measuring the child's mouth in the clinic. It is our preferred placeholder in case of multiple missing teeth on both sides of the jaw. The child only takes off the apron that he wears during the day while eating. We prefer to use a fixed placeholder for one-sided and missing a tooth, especially if the child is younger. Fixed placeholders are made by the physician in a single session in the clinic.
When should the placeholder be made?
The interfaces of milk teeth are very prone to caries. Since the young child cannot brush effectively and cannot clean the teeth in the back area well, these teeth rot quickly and early extraction occurs if the progression of caries cannot be prevented without treatment. Neighboring teeth that tend to slide into the gap formed by the deep caries on the surfaces of the teeth or the teeth, or the permanent tooth that is erupting from below, cause space loss, crowding and serious orthodontic problems in the future.
For this reason, a placeholder should be made, especially in the early loss of milk molars. The most important loss of space is experienced in the early loss of the primary first or second molar tooth before the 6-year-old tooth erupts in the lower or upper jaw. The large gap needed by the 6-year-old tooth can be closed by the sliding of the adjacent teeth of the prematurely fallen or extracted tooth into this area. So the placeholder is particularly important in these regions.
What is the benefit of placeholders?
Placeholders prevent tooth cavities from closing. The permanent tooth prevents the movement of the existing milk teeth in the mouth until it takes its place in the jaw. Since it does not exert any force on the teeth and therefore remains passive, it is a more tolerable form of treatment for your child than an orthodontic treatment that will need to be applied in the future.
What should be considered when using placeholders?
» Sticky candies and bubble gum should be avoided.
» The placeholder must be attached at all times except when eating.
» In order to prevent the placeholder from breaking, force should not be applied while attaching and removing it and it must be kept in its special container.
» After brushing the teeth, they must be brushed and cleaned before the placeholder is inserted into the mouth.
» The dentist should be checked regularly (once a month).
