Teaching a child to brush and floss at a very young age is the best way to instill healthy oral hygiene habits as the child grows. Continue reading to learn how you can explain cavities and healthy hygiene practices to your child.
How to Explain Cavities to Your Child
What Is a Cavity?
There is a bacteria in your mouth that has a funny name. It’s called a streptococci mutant. This bacteria likes to live on your teeth and loves to eat sugar. Whenever you eat sweet or sugary foods, the bacteria will eat the sugar and make an acid on your teeth. When you don’t brush or floss the sugar or acid off of your teeth, the acid will begin to erode or eat away at the surface of your teeth. Over time, this erosion will create a hole in your tooth called a cavity. Cavities can be very painful and if you don’t take care of them quickly, they can grow until the whole tooth is damaged. A damaged tooth can make it difficult to eat your favorite foods and may even need to be removed.
How Can I Protect My Teeth?
You can protect your teeth from cavities by brushing your teeth in the morning after you wake up and again right before you go to sleep at night. Your toothbrush will remove sugar from the surface of your teeth, but it can’t reach the sugar or bacteria that likes to hide between your teeth. This is why it is so important to floss every day to make sure the bacteria can’t hide and create a cavity between your teeth. Every six months, you should go to the dentist for a cleaning so that she can look for any cavities that might be hiding.
What Happens If I Get a Cavity?
If the dentist finds a cavity in your mouth, she will need to drill away the damaged part of your tooth. But don’t worry, the dentist will give you some medicine first so that you will be comfortable. Once the damaged part of your tooth is removed, the dentist will use a special material to fill the hole in and make it look good as new. This material is called a filling which will harden to protect your tooth from any more damage.
Schedule Your Next Appointment in Greenville, NC
If you are looking for a dentist for your child, come to Wilson Pediatric Dentistry. We offer a variety of services including pediatric cavity treatment in Greenville, NC. Our staff is highly qualified to put your child at ease and provide whatever dental services he may require. Schedule an appointment today.
