Milk teeth can also get sick, as well as permanent ones. Often, young children develop diseases that need to be treated. This should also be done if the incisors have not yet been replaced with permanent ones. How to treat a tooth for a child of 3 years old is described in the article.
Why are milk teeth treated?
Dentists believe that they should be kept as permanent units until they are replaced. Usually they change at 6-7 years old, and this process ends at 13-14 years old. Are teeth treated for children 3 years old? Of course yes. This is necessary for the following reasons:
- The germ of a permanent tooth is located near the germ of a milk tooth. Therefore, the infection is able to pass. As a result, there is a risk of a diseased tooth.
- If a baby tooth is not treated in a timely manner, it is removed. With its early extraction, those units that surrounded it can shift. Since the permanent tooth will erupt in the wrong place, the row will be uneven and an overbite will form.
- Untreated caries is considered a focus of infection in the mouth and throughout the body. Because of it, chronic diseases of the ENT organs, the digestive system, a decrease inimmunity. Another child with caries often suffers from colds, acute respiratory infections.
- Dental problems impair food grinding. And this leads to pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Flaws worsen diction. During the pronunciation of consonants, the tongue rests on the teeth. Due to their absence, the tongue rests against the palate. Then, with the advent of a permanent tooth, the pronunciation of sounds should be relearned. And this process is complex and lengthy.
- A child, like an adult, needs the beauty of a smile. Bad teeth or lack of them can spoil the appearance. It also leads to concerns about one's appearance.
Features of treatment
How to treat a tooth for a child of 3 years old? Since at this age they are dairy, the therapy should be gentle and painless. There are 5 rules for child treatment:
- Two-stage anesthesia. First, anesthesia of the gum area is performed with a gel or spray with lidocaine, and only then an injection is performed. For children, thin needles are used.
- The concentration of anesthetic in the injection should be safe - 2% lidocaine or 4% articaine. 1/6 to 1/2 of the "adult" dosage is administered based on the weight of the child. Anesthetics with adrenaline are prohibited until the age of 4.
- Caries removal is done with hand tools - excavator, curette, scaler.
- Filling materials are used, which are applied at a time. They contain fluoride and other beneficial minerals.
- The duration of the procedure is no more than half an hour, otherwise the children get tired and act up.
Where to treat a child's teeth 3 years old? You can contact the city dental clinic at the place of registration. There are also private clinics, but the cost of treatment will be higher in them.
Diagnosis
Dental treatment for a child at the age of 3 begins to be performed after diagnostic measures. Their caries develops rapidly and aggressively, even compared to adults. This is due to the fact that the enamel of milk teeth is weak and includes micropores where bacteria can easily enter. After the development of the carious process, the tooth is destroyed in a few months. Therefore, it is important to visit the dentist every 3-4 months.
The symptoms of caries depend on the stages:
- Initial. First, white spots appear on the enamel. Then they become yellowish, and the surface will be rough. The child does not feel pain, but a reaction to hot and cold food is likely. This stage is treated without drilling with a drill. In this case, a filling is not needed.
- Medium caries. In this case, the destruction of the enamel layer occurs, a “hole” appears. There is a sharp pain when exposed to mechanical or chemical factors. At the bottom of the cavity there is an accumulation of softened dentin and food residues. Sparing methods and prevention do not help - it is necessary to install a seal. The tooth cavity will be open, it should be hermetically sealed with filling material.
- Deep. The "hole" becomes large and noticeable. Enamel and dentin are damaged. When probing the bottom of the cavity, a lot of softened dead tissue is noticeable. Deep caries is treated with a filling. But oftenthe enamel is so destroyed that it is impossible to install a filling, the milk tooth is removed.
How teeth are treated for children 3 years old depends on the stage of caries. To do this, it is enough to conduct a visual inspection and sounding. But often the carious focus is located in a hard-to-reach place. Then you need an X-ray or an intraoral camera.
If it is difficult to determine the initial caries, the doctor uses a caries detector. This fluid turns infected tissue blue or pink. This drug is safe for children.
Preparation for treatment
Children are sensitive to the fear of adults and become afraid of dentists before their first visit. In order for the treatment of a child under 3 years old to go smoothly, he should be prepared for this:
- It is important to find a trusted dentist who can connect with your baby.
- It is important to take a child for prevention, without waiting for pain. But this reinforces children's fear.
- At the reception, mom needs to be calm. Fears are usually transmitted to children.
- At home you can rehearse a visit to the dentist with toys.
- You should tell your child that everyone goes to the dentist - mom, dad, grandparents.
- Time to visit should be chosen when the children are cheerful and cheerful. It is also important that the child is full when going to the doctor.
- If the pain still appears, you need to convince the child that the doctor will help eliminate discomfort.
And so that children learn to brush their teeth from childhood,buy good quality pasta. Now many effective products for the smallest are on sale. Such pastes carefully care for teeth and gums, protect against caries and inflammation in the mouth. The cleaning procedure will be simple and pleasant.
Methods
How to treat a tooth for a child of 3 years old? There are several effective ways:
- Silver plating. This is an outdated method that is still used in many dentistry. The doctor applies a solution of silver nitrate (30%) to the carious site. The substance has a bactericidal effect and destroys cariogenic microflora. Everything is done quickly and painlessly, anesthesia is not needed. After treatment with silver, the teeth become black, which can lead to a psychological complex. The method is used up to 3 years.
- Fluoridation. Another procedure is called remineralization. It consists in strengthening and restoring enamel, saturating weak areas with useful minerals. The dentist performs the treatment of the surface of the teeth with a special solution with calcium, fluorine, phosphorus and other trace elements. The procedure is able to stop the development of caries in the stain stage and is considered the prevention of the disease. The effect persists for 6 months. The method is more suitable for children from 6 years old.
- Ozone therapy. This is a non-contact and painless method, suitable for different ages. Ozone is a powerful oxidizing agent that eliminates pathogenic microflora on the teeth. The event lasts 10–20 seconds. How are teeth treated for children 3 years old? Gaseous ozone is delivered under high pressure through a thin tip aimed at painfulplace. After that, the carious process stops.
- Icon (infiltration). How to treat a tooth for a child of 3 years old with this method? The doctor performs the treatment with an etching gel, and then the infected tissues are softened. They are washed with a jet of abrasive mixture. Then the surface is dried with warm air and an infiltrate is applied - Icon liquid filling. The material hardens under the effect of the light of the polymerization lamp. The procedure lasts 15–20 minutes.
These are the main effective methods that treat teeth for children 3 years old. Caries must be removed as early as possible. Otherwise, it gradually turns into other dental diseases that lead to pain.
Filling
How are teeth treated for children 3 years old in the clinic? The filling method is used. The dentist performs cleansing of carious, dead tissues with hand tools or a drill at low speeds. Then the cavity is washed with a disinfectant solution and filled with filling material. At the end of the procedure, grinding and polishing is carried out.
It is important that the filling material is not harder than the enamel of your tooth, as it wears off quickly. This is a natural process, so you should not worry. But if the filling is very hard, it protrudes at the edges.
Glass ionomer cements are more suitable in the treatment of temporary teeth. The application is carried out in 1 time, and not in layers compared to photocomposites. The cement contains calcium and fluorine compounds, which strengthens dental tissues. The material wears off evenly with the tooth enamel.
Bmodern clinics use colored children's seals Twinky Star. They look colorful, so children like them. There is a choice of colors. The filling includes a compomer - a combination of the properties of glass ionomer cement and photopolymer. The material is safe for he alth and includes valuable fluorine ions.
Local anesthesia
How are teeth treated for young children 3 years old? Sometimes the doctor uses local anesthesia, which is divided into:
- application - no injection;
- infiltration - with an injection.
The first method is used for superficial anesthesia. The danger is that the child is able to swallow a solution with a high concentration of lidocaine.
Injection anesthesia is a reliable method. The procedure provides a blocking of pain sensations in the receptor area, which makes dental treatment easier.
Anesthesia
How else are teeth treated for children 3 years old? The use of anesthesia is effective if the child is very restless and hyperactive. And some may be afraid of dentists. You should not be afraid of this method, it is actively used in Western countries for treatment from 1 year.
Some parents worry that anesthesia is affecting the child's memory or disrupting language development. Theoretically, this is allowed, but in practice it is rarely observed. The complication does not arise from the anesthesia itself, but due to the stress of the child in dentistry or a chronic disease in combination with general anesthesia. With bottle caries, anesthesia is considered the only methodperforming manipulations in 1 procedure.
How are teeth treated for children 3 years old under anesthesia? Change required before:
- general blood and urine tests;
- blood chemistry;
- blood sugar test;
- electrocardiography.
You can't eat for 6 hours before anesthesia, and even drink is forbidden for 4 hours. The child goes into sleep. You can wake him up at any time, you just need to increase the dosage of oxygen. Within 15 minutes, all reflexes return to normal.
Complications and consequences
The article presents all the methods that allow you to cure the teeth of a child of 3 years old, if pain and discomfort do not allow you to live normally. Some parents believe that milk teeth can be left untreated because they will soon fall out. This is the wrong decision. The state of temporary units influences the formation of a normal bite. If a carious infection develops, it enters the deep tissues and the rudiments of the permanent dentition are damaged.
Premature removal of a milk tooth, which is destroyed by caries, leads to negative consequences. There is a violation of the growth of the jaw, new teeth appear out of place, there is crowding and other difficulties. The child will be forced to wear braces.
From neglected caries, pulpitis appears - inflammation of the dental nerve, periodontitis or the appearance of a cyst on the gum at the root. The treatment of these consequences is very difficult; root canal filling is required. And periodontitis can go intoosteomyelitis or abscess, which weaken the immune system and threaten life.
Recovery
After the dental treatment procedure, it should be borne in mind that there is a rehabilitation course. It is important to observe it even with a small patient under the supervision of adults. Recovery is as follows:
- After any procedure, you must stop eating and drinking for 1-2 hours.
- If a temporary filling is placed, you can not eat solid food and sweets. Chewing gum is also prohibited.
Depending on the pathology, the dentist may advise taking certain vitamins. It usually takes several months to complete the course.
Prevention
Children, like adults, must follow the rules of prevention. Then you will not need to urgently go to the dentist with acute pain. Parents should monitor compliance with prevention rules:
- It is necessary to regularly and correctly perform hygiene procedures in the oral cavity. The child needs to buy his own toothbrush with soft bristles. The brushing procedure is better controlled.
- Children should not eat too much sweets. Restriction of solid foods and foods that harm sensitive enamel is also required.
- You need to go to the dentist in a timely manner. The doctor should be visited at least 2 times a year. You also need to contact him at the first symptoms of caries or other ailments.
Thus, dental treatment for young children must be performed necessarily in the presence of caries or otheroral diseases. Regular visits to the dentist will prevent the occurrence of many diseases.
