Remember prevention is always better than cure.Here I will discuss various steps and measures you need to take to reduce the chance for micro-organism to colonize and decay the tooth.In a new born , precautions are minimal as the milk teeth remains unexposed in their oral cavity,hence after every milk feed,make sure that the baby is given some amount of pure water to drink.This helps to dissolve the remaining milk and keep the oral cavity clean.In cases we often advice to massage the gums of the baby very gently which prevents colonization of micro-organism and also help in the eruption of the milk teeth.
After the onset of eruption,this procedure can be done agter every feed.Parents are advised to use a clean piece of soft moistened cloth to rub over the surfaces of the erupting teeth very gently and then make the baby to drink some water.Always make it a habit that the baby must not fall asleep while drinking the milk as very often the this accumulated milk in the oral cavity initiates caries in the baby teeth.Mouth breathers and thumb suckers also increases risk of caries along with the other complications related to the eruption.As days passes by,you will notice that the child acquires the ability to spit out food that they not like and till then you must not use any tooth paste or oral rinses that you often use to clean your own mouth.After the eruption of the primary teeth,soft bristle brushes are recommended to be used for cleaning of the same.Special tooth pastes are also available which provides effective cleaning of the tooth while keeping it safe for the baby ,in case if they accidentally ingest.Flouride free tooth paste are advised for children until they learn to properly rinse and spit out after brushing.Excessive fluoride is very harmful for a child.Such tooth paste are available in most of the shops.
Milk teeth are often have sufficient spaces in between them but in cases where we find a bit of crowding ,parents are advised to take professional help at regular interval of few weeks,which prevents accumulation of food debris in the sides of the tooth where the brushes will not have sufficient access to clean.Some doctors although asks the parents to floss gently in these areas but I personally recommend professional care as it causes less trauma to the child's gingiva and help to keep these surfaces completely clean.
Sugar rich products cannot be avoided in cases where we deal with kids, but make it sure that after every sweet dish or beverages your child rinse their mouth properly.Make them (soft bristle) brush their teeth twice a day , three teeth at a time - with up and down gently strokes ,horizontal motion of the brush should be avoided.
" How will be the appearance of the Initial stage of decay ? " is a common question of many parents .
Always remember that primary teeth are very important for the development of permanent teeth.Missing primary teeth will often cause crowding in the permanent dentition in which case we provide space maintainers . Initial caries can be easily be treated and hence we can save the primary teeth if diagnosed early thereby preventing many other complications .
