Back to School Cleaning

As children go back to school, too many of them will be troubled by tooth aches. The consequences of untreated tooth decay can be devastating for a child’s academic achievement and social development, as well as their health, which is why there’s no better time than now to schedule an appointment with Dr. Meyer’s office.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent study showed that 20% of preteens and 13% of teens have untreated dental decay. Children are the age group most likely to get caries, and decay can delay their speech development and cause them to lose sleep and avoid eating, making them fatigued, irritable, and unable to concentrate. As decay progresses, it causes the gums to become inflamed and bleed and can spread to the pulp of the tooth, at which point it would require a root canal to remove.

Biannual check-ups are intended to help us catch decay before it progresses enough to cause major problems. The less decay is present, the less intrusive a restorative technique is necessary. Dr. Meyer and his associates can also use the check-up as an opportunity to provide the child with sealants, making their teeth more resistant to decay throughout the academic year.

Eric M. Meyer, DDS, operates at 2720 North Harbor Blvd, Fullerton, California, 92835. To schedule an appointment, call 714-879-7943 or visit FullertonDental.com and fill out a contact sheet.

 

Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Childhood is the period in life when people are most vulnerable to cavities, and very young children often experience what dentists call Baby Bottle Tooth Decay. We want the families visiting Dr. Meyer’s Fullerton office to understand this problem so they can better care for their children’s oral hygiene.

When babies feed from bottles, sugar tends to accumulate on the fronts of their incisors. Although milk and formula may not be particularly sugary compared to juice, if the sugar they do contain remains stuck to babies’ teeth for too long, the teeth will be at risk for decay. Unfortunately, the sugar often does remain when babies are given bottles of milk or formula to swig from for hours but have no opportunity to rinse their mouths by drinking water. Older children and adults are also at a higher risk for tooth decay if they snack throughout the day, but they can choose when to brush their teeth or chew sugar-free gum, whereas babies are dependent on others to brush their teeth for them.

The easiest way to avoid Baby Bottle Tooth Decay is to limit the amount of time babies are allowed to keep bottles. But for nutritional as well as dental reasons, children should transfer to drinking from cups around the time of their first birthdays.

Eric M. Meyer, DDS, operates at 2720 North Harbor Blvd, Fullerton, California, 92835. To schedule an appointment, call 714-879-7943 or visit FullertonDental.com and fill out a contact sheet.