Causes and Treatment of Early Childhood Caries among Children

By admin, April 10, 2010

As parents with children, have you realized that your children are suffering the threat to the dental health of their kids, early childhood caries (or called ECC)? ECC, as the acronym for a medical condition called early childhood caries, often occur in tiny tots, which is a syndrome characterized by severe decay in the teeth of infants or young children. Usually, mothers with untreated dental disease present a very high risk to their children.

The common reason for ECC developing is when a bottle-fed infant or toddler is accustomed to drinking sweetened beverages before sleeping and falls asleep with the teat to the mouth. This may include juice, milk or any other sweetened children’s drink, all of which can result in transferring nursing-bottle caries to the child, resulting in a severe milk-bottle syndrome.

It should be noted by parents keen on safeguarding their little ones that this is a pretty common childcare dental health threat that affects 3 year olds and smaller kids. So, proper weaning and the practice of drinking from a cup after the age of 1 year and avoidance of nighttime bottle-in-mouth instances particularly, is advised.

During the daylight, when the child sleeps for a shorter time, and is awake for the most part, the constant flow of saliva enables any acids built up on the surface of the tooth or teeth to get washed away, but this is considerably reduced when a child is asleep, which is more likely at night. 4 of the top front teeth are most likely to display ECC symptoms, which are distinguished by chalky white marks caused by acids that decalcify them. Not only do these look unsightly, but also if left unchecked, can be very painful for the child’s and prevent proper holding space developing in the baby’s mouth for future permanent teeth.

By understanding its causes and applying prompt treatment approaches, you can help prevent painful cavities from developing and keep the smiles on your precious little ones intact. ECC is a serious problem if you don’t pay much attention to it because it usually brings a bad side effect to most children’s whole life.