What causes rotten teeth in children?

It is common for children to have rotten teeth. This is related to the fact that children do not pay attention to oral hygiene. They like to eat sweets and do not pay attention to brushing their teeth or rinsing their mouths, which often leads to bacteria damaging the surface of the teeth and causing caries. In addition, children sleep for a long time, the amount of saliva secretion decreases, and the antibacterial substances in the saliva also decrease, which will cause children to have dental lesions to a certain extent.

What are the causes of tooth decay in children?

Factor 1

The grooves, pits and gaps on the occlusal surfaces of newly erupted teeth, especially young permanent teeth, are numerous and deep, which makes it easy for food to become stuck and retained, and for bacteria to attach. These areas are also difficult to clean with brushing or rinsing, so they are prone to caries.

Factor 2

When teeth first erupt, they have a low degree of calcification, an uneven surface and many pores. Such teeth have poor acid resistance, and bacteria can easily attach to the tooth surface to form dental plaque, making tooth decay more likely to occur.

Factor 3

Children sleep for a long time, and their mouths are in a static state during sleep, so the amount of saliva secretion is reduced, the flow rate is low, and the mechanical flushing effect of saliva is reduced. Due to the decrease in saliva secretion, some antibacterial substances, lysozyme and other components in saliva that are beneficial to tooth health are reduced, which is conducive to the reproduction of bacteria. Some children with bad habits, such as eating bread and pastries before going to bed without brushing their teeth, and some children have the bad habit of sleeping with sugar, etc., are more likely to induce caries.

Factor 4

Children's teeth have weak chewing functions and they mostly eat soft food, which often contains a lot of sugar, which is easy to ferment and produce acid, making them prone to tooth decay.

Factor Five

They like to eat snacks. Currently, most of the food for children is high in sugar content, strong in viscosity, soft and fine in texture, such as cakes, bread, biscuits, various candies, milk and various beverages, which are all children's favorite foods. The sugar in these foods can easily produce acid through bacterial decomposition and fermentation, which can corrode teeth and cause tooth decay.

Factor Six

Poor oral hygiene. Infants cannot brush their teeth by themselves, and most children do not brush their teeth seriously or using the correct method. Because children are young, they almost all have the bad habit of eating delicious snacks without cleaning their teeth. This bad habit of treating your teeth carelessly will of course lead to tooth decay.

The above are the 6 common causes of tooth decay in children. Parents must help their children prevent the occurrence of tooth decay, supervise them to develop good brushing habits and scientific brushing methods, especially the habit of brushing before bed, and guide their children to realize the importance of protecting their teeth. If your child has tooth decay, he or she must go to the hospital's dental department for examination and treatment in time.