Early Dental Caries

Continuing the theme of oral hygiene, this is a photo of a 3yo girl’s upper incisors I recently saw. Lifting the lip revealed a dental caries disaster. Raising infants and toddlers is a balancing act of making the right choices but keeping things as stress free as possible. But sometimes tough decisions are needed for the child’s best interest. In this case the mistake was using breast feeding to help this girl fall asleep well into her second year. In addition she was given fruit juice in bottles because she ‘refused to drink water’.
If the parents had said no to juice, and replaced this with water, said no to night breast feeds her teeth would still be in reasonable condition. This girl is going to have a life long battle protecting her permanent dentition.

So lifting the lip and examining teeth is extremely important. If there is white discolouration close to the gums it is important to make a few firm decisions regarding nutrition and dental care. Teeth cleaning is one of those ‘non negotiables’. For more information see Teeth care in children