How Can Child’s Oral Habits Affect Permanent Teeth

CLINICAL CONTENT WRITTEN & REVIEWED BY CLOVE CLINICAL TEAM

Last Modified: April 19, 2022

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Parents should give utmost importance to a child’s oral hygiene right from the time they are born. Although baby teeth get replaced with permanent teeth, they play a vital role in the child’s oral health. Keeping baby teeth healthy is necessary as they are the basis of permanent teeth. You should take care of many things as a parent from the onset of the very first tooth.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 530 million children suffer from dental caries of primary teeth (milk teeth). One of the leading causes of this is parents’ ignorance of children’s oral health. Parents think that the milk teeth get replaced by permanent teeth and do not have much role to play. However, if you wish to have problem-free permanent teeth, you should start oral care from the very beginning. The baby teeth impact the growth of permanent teeth and overall oral health.

Here, in this blog, we will reveal how the different oral habits of children affect permanent teeth. And how parents can take care of their child’s oral health from the very beginning. And what is kids’ dentistry or pediatric dentistry?

What is Kids Dentistry?

Kids dentistry or pediatric dentistry is a branch of dentistry that deals with taking care of children’s dental health. Pediatric dentists or pedodontists are the specialists who diagnose dental problems in infants, children, teenagers and treat them. They take care of your child’s dental health from birth to adolescence.

How Child’s Oral Habits Affect Permanent Teeth

The condition of oral health affects the overall well-being of a child. It affects their physical, mental, and emotional health too. Bad oral health can fetch pain with tooth decay or dental caries and many other oral problems. That is why every parent must take note of a child’s oral habits, improve them, and make it mandatory to see a pediatric dentist for better oral health.

According to a survey, 8 in 10 children in India suffer from oral or dental health problems. The primary oral health issues noticed in children are plaque accumulation, visible caries, gum inflammation, bad breath, gum bleeding, and white spots on teeth. And 70% of children do not brush twice daily. The same survey reveals that 7 out of 10 children did not visit a pedodontist in a year, although 81% suffer from major oral health problems.

Let us now look at how a child’s oral habits affect their permanent teeth.

Early Childhood Caries

It is also known as nursing bottle caries as the babies feed on milk or any other sweet drinks. When breastfed, infants fall asleep with milk in their mouth, which can also pose a risk for tooth decay or caries. Therefore, when the baby teeth get damaged or decayed, they act as hindrances to the proper positioning of permanent teeth. They can also cause infection in the mouth and crooked permanent teeth.

Sucking of Thumb

Although sucking the thumb, pacifiers, and toys is normal for infants. However, it becomes problematic when they suck their thumb even after five years. It is when permanent teeth begin to appear and can hamper their alignment. The child can also face the upper and lower jaw misaligned or difficulty in pronunciation.

Premature Loss of Baby’s Milk Tooth

When a baby loses a milk tooth prematurely or early because of tooth decay before the arrival time of permanent teeth, it can cause many problems. The nearby tooth can shift or tilt towards the space and create issues in permanent tooth emergence. The result would be crooked or misaligned teeth. However, if you see a pediatric dentist, you can get timely assistance by his suggested therapy that can hold the open space until the arrival of the permanent tooth.

Use of Sippy Cups Throughout the Day

When you allow your kid to use the sipping cup or bottle all day long with milk or different sweetened drinks, they can create oral problems. The saliva in the mouth does not get enough time to cleanse the sugars from the drinks that cause caries or tooth decay. Limit the use of sippy bottles and let your child swish the mouth with water after having any sugary drink to stop tooth decay.

Not Giving Priority to Visit a Pediatric Dentist

Any oral issue of your child can be dealt with when you consult or visit the dentist. The main reason for significant problems to crop up is delaying the visit to the dentist. When you pause your visit to a dentist, you invite lifelong dental issues for your child. When you visit your dentist, he assesses your child’s teeth, looks for oral problems such as tooth decay, etc., and guides you properly. Regular checkups can ward off all the dental issues your child will face in the future.

Schedule Your Child’s Dental Appointment With Clove Dental

You can schedule your visit with us and take proper guidance from our pediatric dentist. Whether your child suffers from any oral problem or not, it is better to have regular checkups. If any dental issue is in the initial stage or about to start, it can be treated in the early stage without your child having to suffer later. If your child does not have any dental problems, the dentist will recommend precautions for future issues.