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Part of every dental checkup is making sure all of your teeth are strong and healthy. Dr. Iyer will have you open wide to look at your teeth, use special little mirrors to get a good look around each tooth, and take X-rays to make sure your teeth are healthy both inside and out.
Why does your dentist want to check each tooth so carefully? One big reason is to look for cavities. What are cavities, and why don’t you want them? We have some questions and answers if you’re cavity-curious!
Just What Is a Cavity?
A cavity is a little hole in your tooth caused by tooth decay.
A Hole in My Tooth? How Did It Get There?
Most of the time, we get cavities because of plaque buildup.
Plaque is a sticky film that builds up on our teeth all through the day. It’s mostly made up of saliva (or spit), tiny bits of the food we chew, and germs called bacteria.
The bacteria in plaque use these food particles from our meals for their own food. Part of the way they use that food is to create acids.
Even though our teeth are very strong, acids can make them weaker as they break down the hard enamel on the outside of the tooth. This is the start of tooth decay. As time goes by, and more acids attack our tooth, a weak spot can grow larger and deeper, making a hole in the tooth.
Why Are Cavities Bad for My Teeth?
If a cavity gets too big, it can reach the inside of your tooth. Inside each tooth, we have pulp. Healthy pulp keeps our tooth alive, and it contains nerves which can feel pain. This is why a deep cavity gives you a toothache. If the pulp is damaged, your tooth is in danger.
How Can My Dentist Help?
When you have regular checkups, Dr. Iyer can find small cavities and treat them before they become big ones. This helps keep your smile healthy and toothache-free!
To start, your dentist will give you medicine to make the area around your tooth numb if you need it. When your tooth is numb, your dentist will clean away all of the decay with special small drills. They can be noisy, but they won’t hurt.
Once all of the decay is gone, your dentist will fill the hole with—a filling! A filling can be made of metal or a material which matches your tooth color.
When your appointment is finished, your tooth will be free from all the bacteria that were hurting it, the hole in your tooth will be filled, and you’ll be able to eat and bite and chew just like you could before. But what’s even better than treating a cavity? Preventing one!
How Can I Prevent Cavities?
There are lots of ways to get a cavity. Sometimes it’s caused by what people do, like eating lots of the foods which cavity-causing bacteria love. Sometimes, a cavity is caused by what people don’t do, like not brushing and flossing enough. And some people get cavities even with careful brushing and a healthy diet, so they might need extra help to protect their teeth.
Here are three very good ways to help stop cavities before they ever start:
The bacteria in plaque like sugars and starches because these foods are the easiest for them to use. And when they get more food, they make more acids. Desserts and sodas, soft breads and chips, and sugary cereals—these foods make tasty meals for bacteria and they stick to your teeth. Eating a balanced diet without too many sugary and starchy treats means fewer acids—and fewer cavities!
Brushing at least twice a day helps get rid of the sticky plaque holding those cavity-causing bacteria. Flossing helps remove plaque where your brush has a hard time reaching, like the spaces between your teeth. Your dentist and hygienist can show you the very best ways to brush and floss to get rid of the most plaque.
Your dentist can also treat your teeth to help keep cavities from ever starting, especially if you’re someone who gets cavities more easily. Professional cleanings at our Wichita Falls, TX dental office and dental sealants are two ways to protect teeth from plaque and bacteria. Your dentist will have some ideas just for you.
Together, you and your dentist make a powerful cavity-fighting team. If you have any questions about keeping your teeth their healthiest, your dentist has the answers!
All Hallows’ Eve, more commonly known as Halloween, is a yearly event celebrated on October 31, and one that is anticipated by the young and young at heart all over the world. Some scholars claim that Halloween originated from Celtic festivals that honored the dead or that celebrated the harvest, while others doubt that there’s any connection at all to Samhain (a Gaelic harvest festival.) Regardless of its origin, our team at the Pediatric Dentistry office of Dr. Iyer hopes that Halloween is fun and enjoyed by all of our awesome patients!
Trick or treat?
In North America, Halloween is predominantly celebrated by children who dress up in costumes, which range from scary to cute, who then go around the neighborhood knocking on doors asking “trick or treat”, and they are given candy in return. Trick-or-treating is a time honored tradition, and though many parents groan at the pounds and pounds of candy collected by youngsters and fear for the health of their teeth, there are a few things you can do to help their teeth stay in great shape until the candy is gone:
Halloween Fun
Halloween isn’t just about gorging on candy; there are other events associated with this festive day including carving jack-o’-lanterns, painting pumpkins, decorating sugar cookies, bobbing for apples, going to haunted houses, or just curling up on the couch with a bowl full of popcorn and watching some classic, scary movies.
Halloween Around the World
Some countries, like Australia, frown upon Halloween, claiming it is an American event and not based in Australian culture, while others like Italy have embraced the fun and celebrate much as Canadians and Americans do. Mexicans have been celebrating this fun day since around 1960, and it marks the beginning of the Day of the Dead festival. Some countries in Europe have come late to the party, but since the 1990s, countries like Sweden, Norway, and Germany have started celebrating Halloween as well, and finding children in costumes or having ghosts hanging in windows has become commonplace.
Halloween is about fun; stepping outside our normal lives and donning a costume or gathering with friends to knock on doors and ask for candy is as much a part of our culture as hot dogs and barbecue on Labor Day. Have a safe and happy Halloween from the team at Dentistry 4 Kidz!
Is your child nervous about visiting Dr. Iyer and our team at Dentistry 4 Kidz? Today, we put together some tips to help ensure your little one relaxes before his or her next dental checkup!
We hope this helps! For more on dental anxieties, ask us during your next visit to Dentistry 4 Kidz! Or, ask us on Facebook!
Children’s baby teeth generally start to fall out when the adult teeth underneath them are ready to arrive. Visits from the Tooth Fairy begin around the age of six, and continue until the last baby molar is gone.
But sometimes, we can’t wait for nature to take its course, and children need a dentist’s assistance to remove a primary tooth before it falls out on its own. Here are some common situations where extracting a baby tooth is best for a child’s present—and future—dental health.
Dentists make every effort to save teeth, and this includes baby teeth. A filling or even the baby tooth version of a root canal can be used to save little teeth when a cavity appears.
But severe decay could mean that there’s not enough healthy tooth structure left to fill. Or that bacteria have caused infection inside the tooth. Left untreated, infections can spread to other tissues in the body and can become quite serious. When a primary tooth is seriously decayed or infected, an extraction is often the healthiest choice.
Sometimes a baby tooth will recover on its own if it’s been jarred by an impact. Sometimes an injured tooth can be repaired with treatment. If there’s serious damage, though, a baby tooth is at risk for abscess and infection, and, sometimes, can cause harm to the adult tooth beneath it. In cases like these, an extraction is the safest option.
When an injury causes a broken or dislodged tooth, call Dr. Iyer immediately. Whether the tooth can be saved or should be extracted depends on how serious the injury is and how soon you can get your child to the dentist’s office or the emergency room.
Whenever a child loses a primary tooth early, a pediatric dentist will be on the lookout for potential orthodontic problems. Remaining baby teeth tend to shift to fill any empty spot. Without the proper space to come in, the adult tooth can erupt out of place or at an awkward angle. Dr. Iyer might recommend a space maintainer to keep baby teeth aligned properly and to make sure the right spot stays open for the permanent tooth when it’s ready to erupt.
We’ve talked about primary teeth which are lost early, but it’s also problematic . . .
Usually, a wiggly baby tooth is a clue that the adult tooth underneath has started pushing its way up and out. The baby tooth’s root is gradually absorbed as the adult tooth moves into place. Without an intact root to hold it in place, the baby tooth grows looser and looser until it falls out. Now the permanent tooth has the perfect open space ready for its arrival.
But when baby teeth don’t fall out on their own, this can be another source of orthodontic difficulties.
Stubborn baby teeth can mean adult teeth erupt behind them, creating a double row of teeth (colorfully known as “shark teeth”) and risking crowding and misalignment. Or a baby tooth can block an adult tooth from erupting at all. When that baby tooth just isn’t budging, an extraction will create space for the permanent tooth to erupt.
If an extraction is scheduled, consult with Dr. Iyer about these important topics in advance:
A pediatric dentist is an expert not just in caring for little teeth, but in caring for little patients as well. Because extractions can be scary for children, talk to our Wichita Falls, TX dental team to learn how to prepare your child for the procedure in an informative, comforting, and age-appropriate way.
A local anesthetic could be all that’s necessary for a simple extraction. If sedation is recommended for an extraction, or if you feel sedation is better for your child’s needs, discuss nitrous oxide, oral medication, and other options with your dentist.
Whether it’s how to protect the area around the extraction, which foods and drinks are best over the days following, or how to treat pain and swelling, you’ll be given clear instructions by your pediatric dental team to help your child recover comfortably and quickly.
Little teeth can take different paths on their way to the Tooth Fairy. Your pediatric dentist is an expert both in treating children’s dental needs and in making sure their oral development is on schedule. If your dentist has recommended an extraction, it’s because this is the very best way to protect your child’s immediate oral health while ensuring a healthy future adult smile.