Teeth Problems

Teeth problems can start at any age after the baby has cut her first tooth. To avoid teeth problems, it is very important to take care of the primary teeth just like the permanent teeth.Some teeth problems take place in the very early stages while some take place a few years later. Some teeth problems can take place at any stage in your child's life.

Common Teeth Problems

If they are not cared for properly, the baby teeth can have various teeth problems which in turn affect the permanent teeth. Different teeth problems occur at various stages of your child's life starting from when she is a baby. Some common teeth problems are:

Tooth Decay

Tooth decay is the most common teeth problem. Sweet foods and soft drinks are the main cause in older children. With toddlers and preschoolers, tooth decay may occur because of prolonged use of the feeding bottle. To prevent this, avoid giving the child a feeding bottle overnight. During the day time, use the bottle only for the most essential feedings. Try and use the bottle as much as possible only to give your child water. Improper brushing of teeth after using a feeding bottle or eating sweet food triggers tooth decay.

Tooth decay if left untreated can cause other major problems such as infection, pain, chewing problems, malnutrition and speech problems. The aim must be to prevent it rather than cure the problem when it arises. The most commonly affected teeth because of tooth decay are the upper front or molar teeth. But other teeth can get affected as well.

Grinding the Teeth

This often takes place at night. Children usually do this to find the most comfortable way to bite their food. Once they work out on this, the grinding stops. However if the grinding becomes vigorous, tooth surface may be lost. Teeth grinding can also take place due to stress and anxiety or improper alignment of baby teeth. You will have to get your child checked up by a pediatric dentist if your child shows problems such as face sore, headaches and sore jaws. Check out a fun game by Aquafresh to help your child prepare for a trip to the dentist.

If the grinding takes place due to improper alignment, then this problem will mostly get solved when the permanent teeth are developed.

Thumb Sucking

Thumb sucking is common in children less than three years old. Babies and one year olds are also often prone to using pacifiers. Thumb sucking or pacifier sucking is part of psychological development as the baby retorts to them for self-soothing. You must help the child get rid of this habit before the toddler years. If not, this can interfere with the growth and development of the teeth. Prolonged thumb or pacifier sucking results in crowded teeth, jaw protrusion and misaligned teeth. They can hamper your child's speech development. One way you can try to help your child kick this habit is by offering her a soft toy or some other object to soothe herself.

Red Gums

As the name indicates, this problem is indicated by swelling and redness of the gums. Like tooth decay, they are often associated with improper brushing of the teeth. They go away once the teeth are well brushed and cared for. However if your child has a high fever along with the swollen gums, it can indicate a viral infection and calls for immediate attention by the doctor.

Red gums left unattended due to improper teeth care can cause problems like tooth loss and bleeding. This later causes a gum disease due to a bacteria called plaque. An easy way to identify the gum problem is a bad breath inside the mouth.

Tongue Thrusting

This problem is common in children as early as during the infancy stage. In this case, the front teeth are subject to extra pressure and causing improper alignment. This can also interfere with the development of permanent teeth and cause speech problems. Therefore, you must seek advice from the child's dentist if you see her tongue thrusting even during the baby days.

Hypoplastic Teeth

This problem is also called soft teeth or sensitive teeth. These teeth appear soft and yellow, and break very easily. In the long run, this can cause the wear and tear of tooth enamel, cracks in teeth and receding gums. The affected teeth are sensitive to hot and cold food and/or drink and sweet food. Even breathing in cold air can be painful.

Children with soft teeth refuse to brush their teeth as it can be painful to do so. Once again, you might find the intervention of a pediatric dentist necessary as early as possible.

Lip Sucking

Like tongue thrusting, this is a problem that can get started during the infancy stages. The child sucks the lower lip below the front teeth. This can affect the appearance of adult teeth and also make the baby teeth weaker. Just as in thumb sucking, a soothing object may help to distract her from this habit. However if this still persists, do consult her doctor immediately.

Extra Teeth

Sometimes your child may develop an extra tooth on his palate. This often happens when your baby is born with a baby tooth which happens in some rare cases. This may affect the eruption of the adult teeth and cause tooth crowding. It is a good idea to get the extra tooth removed by the time your child completes six years of age.

Injury

Young children are active and energetic, and forever running all over the place. This may result in falling and minor accidents that lead to cracked or knocked out baby teeth. Also biting into something that is very hard can cause this problem. Discourage your child from biting into very hard objects.

Canker Sores

These are small sores that occur inside the mouth and last for about a couple of weeks. Canker sores are often white in colour and have a red border. However by using a good mouth wash, you can reduce the time they last.

Congenital Issues

These can be due to many problems such as unusual tooth position, different shape or size of baby tooth or even missing teeth.