Pediatric Dental Restorations

Cavities begin as small indentations in the enamel of a tooth that indicate that the enamel has become compromised and has begun to demineralize. Small cavities may be present in the mouth without you knowing about it despite brushing your child’s teeth every day. This is because many cavities occur between the teeth where the bristles of our toothbrushes have a more difficult time reaching.

Cavities form as a result of the chemical reaction between our saliva, our bacteria and the foods that we eat. When we introduced starches or sugars to our oral cavity it is met with saliva which works alongside bacteria to break down the foods in preparation for it to be fully digested later down the digestive tract. The bacteria in our mouths digest the sugars present in our ham sandwiches, for example, and as a byproduct of their digestion they excrete an acid. Since bacteria aren’t careful about how they discard their waste, they excrete this acid immediately into the mouth where it can attack the protective enamel on our teeth and irritate the gingival tissues. Since these bacteria are found in such a nice warm moist environment as your oral cavity, they replicate quickly and easily when sugar and starch is introduced.

Sticky candy and starches that turn into a paste which can be pressed into the pits and fissures and between the meeting points of teeth are often responsible for high levels of acidity in the mouth. These items stick and are resilient to leaving the mouth without diligently brushing and flossing your teeth. The result is an overpopulation of plaque bacteria collecting around the collars of the teeth and gums. Since this bacterium causes irritation to the gums, the gums can become inflamed and swollen and this is responsible for bleeding during flossing. Bleeding during flossing represents the first sign of gingivitis and can be rectified with a diligent oral hygiene regimen including brushing the teeth a minimum of twice a day and flossing the teeth a minimum of once a day using proper technique.

If left to proliferate, these plaque bacteria can be responsible for both the development of tartar and the eventual progression of gingivitis into periodontitis. In its most severe form, periodontitis may require surgery and antibiotics to correct. Due to its interaction with minerals in our saliva, plaque bacteria can become calcified over time (tartar) and must then be professionally removed. Chronic inflammation of the gum tissue causes it to loosen from the teeth, allowing bacteria to enter the socket. This can result in tooth decay further down the crown of the tooth beneath the gum line.