How can I Prevent Tooth Decay?
Dental caries is also known as "cavity tooth" or "worm tooth", which is a disease that can cause severe pain and may affect the health of the whole body by destroying the teeth: it seriously affects the development of children's teeth and normal chewing function and loss of appetite.
Basis of Fangs
Right!
- Chinese name
- Basis of Fangs
- Alias
- Dental caries
- High incidence group
- 5 to 7 years old
- Category
- Oral health
- Dental caries is also known as "cavity tooth" or "worm tooth", which is a disease that can cause severe pain and may affect the health of the whole body by destroying the teeth: it seriously affects the development of children's teeth and normal chewing function and loss of appetite.
- Dental caries is also known as "fangs" or "worm teeth". It is a disease that can cause severe pain by destroying teeth and may affect general health. The highest incidence of dental caries is the number one enemy of children's deciduous tooth health.
According to survey statistics, the prevalence of deciduous tooth dental caries in China is 75.6% in cities and 78.2% in rural areas, and they are characterized by early onset of age. Infants who are 6 months old may have dental caries, 5-7 years old Children have the highest incidence.
Dental caries has become the number one killer of children's oral health. The peak of dental caries in deciduous teeth is about 5 years old, and the peak of dental caries in permanent teeth is about 15 years old, and it continues to affect people to old age. According to the sample survey data from Shanghai, among the 15,059 kindergarten children and elementary and middle school students participating in the survey, the number of deciduous teeth caries was 8523, the deciduous tooth caries rate was 56.62%, and the 4-year-old children had a caries rate of 65.92%. 93.5-year-old children accounted for 83.57%; according to a sample survey of primary and middle school students in Beijing, the average dental caries rate of 7-year-old children in urban and suburban areas was 48.88%, 12-year-old children were 67.29%, and 17-year-old 73.61%; meanwhile, survey data showed that Generally, the dental caries of permanent teeth is lower in rural than urban population. The average dental caries incidence of urban population is 63.65%, and the average number of dental caries is 1.67. The rural population has a dental caries rate of 55.67%, the average number of dental caries is 1.27, and the type of diet. Differences with habit factors play a big role.
1. Deciduous tooth caries will seriously affect children's tooth development and normal chewing function;
2. Deciduous tooth caries may cause the loss of multiple teeth, leading to changes in the occlusal relationship between the upper and lower teeth, dysfunction, and affect the development of the jaw and face;
3. Dental caries will also affect the development of permanent tooth germ, and even cause permanent tooth germ cysts, resulting in permanent tooth eruption;
4. Destroy the crown of deciduous teeth or cause deciduous teeth to fall off, resulting in decreased chewing force and reduced chewing function;
5. Broken crowns and roots caused by dental caries will also stimulate oral soft tissue to form ulcers.
In the process of tooth development, because of the eruption of permanent teeth, food residues are easy to accumulate between the decayed deciduous teeth and adjacent permanent teeth, and it is easy to cause new dental caries. Children with dental caries often suffer from tooth pain instead of Willing to use the teeth on the affected side to chew food, the affected jaw will lack the necessary physiological stimuli. Over time, it will lead to asymmetric development of the jaws on both sides;
In addition, dental caries of deciduous teeth can cause loss of appetite and indigestion in children, which in turn affects growth and development of the whole body;
The continued development of dental caries can also lead to pulp inflammation, more serious can also lead to chronic periapical inflammation, and can become the source of the lesion. When the body's resistance decreases, the bacteria stored in the lesion may also be Transfer to other parts of the body to cause disease, common ones such as arthritis, nephritis, etc., can be directly related to the pathogen and caries;
If dental caries occur in the anterior teeth, it will not only look unsightly, but also cause huge psychological pressure on children, which will cause psychological disorders.
Dental caries is an oral disease caused by multiple factors. It mainly includes several aspects: bacteria, diet, teeth and saliva. The three are interrelated, and dental caries cannot occur without a condition. At present, scholars believe that saliva as a variable external environment of teeth is not only an important factor affecting dental caries, how to effectively improve the function of salivary secretion, but also the key to preventing dental caries. How to use this "variable" factor to effectively prevent dental caries, We will discuss it later.
Everyone knows that tooth decay (caries) is actually an acid corrosion phenomenon. Why are children with high incidence of tooth decay? It is mostly related to children's preference for eating indiscriminate sweets.
As mentioned earlier, because the enamel of children's teeth is in the immature stage, their ability to resist acid corrosion is far lower than that of adults. In addition, children love sweets and dairy foods, and the consciousness of cleaning the mouth in time is poor. Milk residues can quickly be fermented and converted into extremely acidic substances, posing an acid corrosion threat to tooth enamel.
Therefore, especially children and adults who do not have the habit of brushing teeth before bedtime inevitably become the high-risk group of dental caries.
So why do dentists usually emphasize brushing before bed?
This is because the oral cavity itself is a very acidic environment. This unique physiological characteristic is firstly for antibacterial and secondly to assist digestion. However, when the acidity is too high, it also brings side effects. The first side effect is that it is easy to produce. "Tooth decay."
Because the acidity of the oral cavity is adjusted by the secretion of saliva, when the person sleeps, the saliva secretion in the mouth basically stops. If there are organic substances (especially sugars and milk) in the mouth at this time, It will be fermented and converted into acidic substances, and the oral acidity will be raised to a highest point at once, thus posing a great threat of acid corrosion to the teeth.
The elderly are also a high-incidence group of dental caries. The elderly have self-control and will eat less sweets and dairy foods. Most of them also have good oral hygiene habits due to their life experiences. However, why are they also a high-incidence group of tooth decay?
The answer is still "saliva." The dental gold expert group found in research that the saliva secretion of the elderly will be significantly reduced due to physiological degradation. This physiological degradation makes their oral acidity significantly higher than young people. Therefore, dental caries and severe oral cavity are common in the elderly. Peculiar smell.
Because caries damage is irreversible, timely prevention is very important.
Especially for children at the stage of tooth development, the prevention of dental caries is a very important child health work. The basic principle is to adopt corresponding measures to address the above-mentioned disease factors.
1 Basic principles of tooth decay 1. Reduce or eliminate pathogenic irritants
Reducing or eliminating plaque on teeth, improving the oral environment, and maintaining oral cleanliness are important aspects of preventing dental caries. To do this, the most basic and effective way is to brush your teeth and rinse your mouth. This should be carried out through various channels to promote publicity and education, so that children from childhood to develop good oral hygiene habits, learn and master the correct method of brushing teeth.
Correct brushing can remove most bacteria in the mouth and effectively reduce plaque formation. When children are not able to brush their teeth, parents can use a soft towel or flannel to help scrub their teeth.
Toddlers can learn to brush their teeth after 3 years of age, brushing each morning and evening as much as possible, and develop a good habit of mouthwashing after meals. Brushing your teeth before bedtime is more important, because the interval between nights is long, when people sleep, saliva is often secreted insufficiently, and bacteria are more likely to multiply.
The correct method of brushing is the vertical brushing method, that is, the upper teeth are brushed from top to bottom, and the lower teeth are brushed from top to bottom along the gum edge. Bite the surface, carefully clean the teeth and the food residue on each tooth surface, rinse your mouth after brushing; do not brush horizontally, it is easy to damage the gums, and can not clean the residue in the teeth.
The choice of toothbrush is also important. The "Temporary Health Care Toothbrush Specification" has been jointly formulated by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Light Industry and the Ministry of Commerce. Toothbrushes used by young children should not exceed two rows of 5-6 strands each, and the hair quality should be soft. The toothbrush bristles used by elementary school students should not exceed three rows, 6-7 strands per row. Have an adult toothbrush for reference.
To eliminate the causative factors of dental caries, we should also pay attention to children's eating habits, add various complementary foods on time, eat more rough, hard and fibrous foods, which has a friction and cleaning effect on the tooth surface, and can also reduce the accumulation of food debris . Harder foods need to be fully chewed, which can not only enhance the vitality of periodontal tissues, but also rub the teeth bite surface, make the pits and grooves shallow, and help reduce pits and grooves.
2 The rationale for tooth decay 2, reducing or controlling sugar in the diet
Countries and peoples who rely on cereals as their staple foods, it is difficult to control carbohydrates in their diet to prevent caries. With the increase in sugar-based foods and various beverages, control of sugar, another major cariogenic factor, Especially important. The best way is to spread the knowledge of prevention, from the parents to teach children from a young age to develop the habit of eating less snacks and high sugar content cakes, especially to avoid the bad habit of eating sugar before bedtime, pay attention to the quality of children's meals It is best to be accustomed to eat more vegetables, fruits and calcium, phosphorus, vitamins and other nutritious foods from the early childhood stage. Eat coarse grains as much as possible, and pay attention to breastfeeding infants.
3 The basics of tooth decay 3, enhance the dental caries resistance
As mentioned in the factors of dental caries, a sufficient amount of saliva secretion is the key to ensure oral hygiene and effectively prevent dental caries. Because of this, the development of technologies that effectively regulate or improve oral saliva secretion will inevitably become the research focus and direction of ending dental caries, another major oral killer.
In addition, the fluoridation method is also a means to increase the dental caries resistance by increasing the fluoride in the teeth, especially by changing the enamel surface or surface structure.
However, it is not easy to achieve natural fluoride. Normally, a certain amount of fluoride is added during the growth of permanent teeth after a tooth exchange. It has mimicked the central water fluoridation attempted by Europe and the United States. Because the correct amount of fluoride will depend on the genetics and regional water quality. , Dietary habits, and other variables, in fact, it is difficult to accurately calculate the appropriate concentration for caries prevention, and it becomes difficult to operate. Previously, China has tried to observe the fluorination of tap water in experimental areas in Guangzhou for many years. The reference amount recommended by the World Health Organization was used), which led to the occurrence of fluorosis in children in Guangzhou, causing dissatisfaction among parents, and the full fluoride addition has been stopped.
The same is true for fluoride toothpaste. Due to the many variables mentioned above, it is difficult to calculate the fluoride in the development of permanent teeth from person to person, and the effect of fluoride is very limited for the fully developed permanent teeth. This is also the main reason why the prevalence of dental caries remains high despite the fact that most adults have chosen to use fluoride toothpaste.
The international consensus is that any fluoridated anti-caries method can only be used in water-free or low-fluorine areas, and high-fluorine areas must not be used. Many people in high-fluorine areas are vulnerable to lack of these common sense. The advertisement was misleading, and the wrong choice of fluoride toothpaste was counterproductive.
In short, the pathogenesis of dental caries is complex. At present, there is no single method that can completely prevent the occurrence of new dental caries. Through the control of biotechnology and the controllable condition of saliva, it is possible to achieve the goal of a single product for effective dental caries prevention. The most feasible direction for a breakthrough.
Therefore, the prevention and treatment of dental caries must be combined with prevention and control, not only to control the occurrence of new caries, but also to detect and treat them early. Develop and popularize effective oral health care for children, starting from active prevention and early treatment, mainly by strengthening the popularization of oral health awareness and nutrition and health knowledge of children's parents, and ensuring that the physical and dental health of people with a high incidence of dental caries can be highly concerned. Effectively reduce the incidence of dental caries.