“Dental caries is the most common chronic infectious disease known of childhood” (Mulu 1). It is a major problem in the public health world, especially in young children. Early childhood caries is the caries that a child up to five years of age experience. ECC often goes untreated even though it progresses rapidly in those who are at a high risk for it. Early childhood caries has gone by many names and some of them are: early childhood tooth decay, early childhood caries, baby bottle-fed tooth decay, early childhood dental decay, comforter caries, nursing caries, maxillary anterior caries, rampant caries, etc. (Colak, 2013) Early childhood caries has several risk factors and parents of small children should be more aware of them. When a mother
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“These cariogenic bacteria like to attach to enamel and metabolize fermentable carbohydrates producing acid” (Ezer 1). Acid that is formed specifically from Streptococci mutans lowers the pH level within the mouth. Once the mouth has a lower, acidic pH, demineralization of tooth structure starts forming. If the decrease in pH is prolonged, the demineralization eventually turns into a cavity. Streptococci mutans has the ability to be able to attack before the eruption of the first tooth. There is not a known transmission of Streptococci mutans, but there are several contributing factors and they are: open carious lesions in the primary caregiver, sharing food or utensils, intimate contact, and poor oral hygiene. For example, if a child is sucking on a pacifier, and he/she drops their pacifier on the ground, the parent/guardian should not just stick in their mouth to clean it because that is how the transmission of Streptococci mutans is spread. There should be more ways that the parent/guardian could be educated on their child’s oral health because ECC is a major problem within the world and majority of people have not even heard of …show more content…
The easiest way to prevent ECC is to not put a child to bed with a bottle that is filled with juice, milk, sugar, formula, etc. “According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), most children who are seven or eight months of age no longer need to feed during the night. Also, giving your child a bottle while they are lying down may place them at risk for getting ear infections (Rico 1).” If your child must have a bottle while being put to sleep, dilute whatever their drinking slowly until it is diluted to just water. There are many methods that parents/guardians can use to help prevent ECC, and a few of them are: only allow your child to have a bottle during meals and not throughout the day, limit their number of sugary drinks/snacks, cleaning their children’s gums with a soft toothbrush or cloth, and teaching their children to drink from a cup as early as the age of
“These cariogenic bacteria like to attach to enamel and metabolize fermentable carbohydrates producing acid” (Ezer 1). Acid that is formed specifically from Streptococci mutans lowers the pH level within the mouth. Once the mouth has a lower, acidic pH, demineralization of tooth structure starts forming. If the decrease in pH is prolonged, the demineralization eventually turns into a cavity. Streptococci mutans has the ability to be able to attack before the eruption of the first tooth. There is not a known transmission of Streptococci mutans, but there are several contributing factors and they are: open carious lesions in the primary caregiver, sharing food or utensils, intimate contact, and poor oral hygiene. For example, if a child is sucking on a pacifier, and he/she drops their pacifier on the ground, the parent/guardian should not just stick in their mouth to clean it because that is how the transmission of Streptococci mutans is spread. There should be more ways that the parent/guardian could be educated on their child’s oral health because ECC is a major problem within the world and majority of people have not even heard of …show more content…
The easiest way to prevent ECC is to not put a child to bed with a bottle that is filled with juice, milk, sugar, formula, etc. “According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), most children who are seven or eight months of age no longer need to feed during the night. Also, giving your child a bottle while they are lying down may place them at risk for getting ear infections (Rico 1).” If your child must have a bottle while being put to sleep, dilute whatever their drinking slowly until it is diluted to just water. There are many methods that parents/guardians can use to help prevent ECC, and a few of them are: only allow your child to have a bottle during meals and not throughout the day, limit their number of sugary drinks/snacks, cleaning their children’s gums with a soft toothbrush or cloth, and teaching their children to drink from a cup as early as the age of