Cariogenic bacteria break down carbohydrates in food to produce acidic substances, causing demineralization of hard tissues in teeth and resulting in tooth decay (dental caries)
Dental caries can be said to be the number one killer of dental health, which can easily lead to a series of problems with teeth.
Many people in life believe that dental caries are caused by eating sugar, and without sugar, there will be no dental caries. However, this viewpoint is not entirely correct.
Why?
Don't worry, today we will focus on the four factors that contribute to the formation of dental caries: host, time, bacteria, and food. Let's talk about preventing dental caries.
Before introducing prevention, let's first take a look at who is prone to dental caries?

Who are prone to dental caries?
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·In dietary habits, the amount and frequency of intake of sugary foods are high.
·Poor oral hygiene habits.
·Poor tooth development and mineralization, low saliva secretion, and uneven dental alignment.
·Genetic factors lead to high susceptibility to dental caries.

How to prevent dental caries?
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Starting from the four elements, prevent tooth decay!

Countermeasure 1 for preventing dental caries: Changing dietary habits
·Reduce the intake of free sugars such as candies, refined pasta, cookies, cakes, etc;
·Reduce the intake of acidic foods including carbonated drinks, acidic fruits, preserved plums, etc.

Little knowledge
What is free sugar?
Free sugar
The sugars naturally present in processed foods, beverages, honey, and fruit juice, mainly in the form of sucrose, fructose, and glucose.
Endogenous sugar
Endogenous sugars refer to sugars in fruits and vegetables, which are enclosed by a layer of plant cell wall and digested more slowly. They take longer to enter the bloodstream than free sugars.
That is to say, the juice we usually drink can be considered as candy.

Preventive measures for dental caries 2: Developing good oral hygiene habits
·Correct brushing method
The following video is from Maqiao Yilin Nursery in Minhang District:
·Choose fluoride toothpaste
·Use interdental cleaning tools
Brushing teeth alone cannot clean the gaps between teeth, so dentists recommend choosing interdental cleaning tools, including interdental brushes, dental floss, flossers, etc., and using them in combination is more conducive to oral cleaning!
·Mouthwash
For people who are bedridden for a long time, have poor self-care ability, and find it inconvenient to clean their mouth, fluoride mouthwash can be used to help clean their mouth.

Countermeasure 3 for preventing dental caries: Correcting overcrowded dental arches
Overcrowding of the dental arch can lead to food impaction and greatly reduce brushing efficiency. Orthodontic treatment can not only beautify teeth but also reduce the risk of tooth decay.

Countermeasure 4 for preventing tooth decay: Remove obstructed wisdom teeth
Wisdom teeth that are misaligned or skewed are not only prone to swelling and pain, but can also cause adjacent teeth to decay due to food impaction that cannot be cleaned properly. Therefore, it is recommended to remove them as soon as possible to avoid potential hazards.

Countermeasure 5 for preventing dental caries: Regular application of fluoride
Fluoride can reduce the risk of dental caries.
Dentists recommend regular visits to the hospital every 3-6 months for fluoride caries prevention treatment.

Countermeasure 6 for preventing tooth decay: Regularly undergo oral examinations
It is recommended to regularly undergo a full mouth dental examination at a dentist's office to detect and treat tooth decay early and nip it in the bud.

Dental caries are caused by bacteria using sugar to produce acid, which is applied to teeth and gradually forms over time.

Sugar, bacteria, teeth, and time are indispensable in its formation process, and none of these factors can be completely eliminated in our daily lives.

As long as a baby has teeth, even if they are still breastfeeding, they may develop dental caries.

Therefore, we recommend that babies undergo oral examinations as early as possible.

But how early should this be?

Dentists suggest that babies undergo their first oral examination between the eruption of their first tooth and 12 months of birth. This means that the first oral examination should be conducted between the eruption of their first baby tooth and the age of one. Afterwards, the follow-up period should be determined based on the risk assessment of dental caries.

Some parents may have concerns that their baby is so young that they cannot sit on the dental chair like adults. How can they do a check-up?

Position for Baby Oral Examination

This parent actually doesn't need to worry too much, they can choose knee to knee position for their baby's oral examination.

The doctor and the parents sit on chairs of the same height, with their legs together and their knees facing each other. The baby sits on the parents' legs, facing the parents, and the parents hold the baby's hands and feet, with their head lying on the doctor's legs.

This way, the doctor can see the baby's mouth clearly and perform an oral examination.

Image.Png performs oral examination in knee to knee position

Babies under 3 years old can use this position for examination.

Knowing how to cooperate with the inspection, it is inevitable that some parents will be confused:

·What can we find out that such a small baby only has a few teeth

·The doctor doesn't want to take advantage of the situation to make money, does he

Of course not!

The first oral examination not only checks the teeth to detect early oral lesions, but also evaluates the risk of dental caries and teaches parents oral health knowledge, guiding them to learn how to brush their baby's teeth, increasing their attention to their baby's oral health, and accepting professional caries prevention measures.

Early detection of oral lesions

Regular oral examinations allow doctors to detect oral lesions in a timely and early manner. Once young children develop caries quickly, it is difficult to cooperate with treatment. The earlier they are detected and controlled, the better the effect.

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Assess the risk of dental caries

Through oral examination, caries activity testing, and questionnaire survey, the risk of dental caries in babies is comprehensively evaluated, and personalized risk factors for dental caries in babies are identified.

For example, babies are fed irregularly with frequent night milk.

Timely provide guidance and suggestions to prevent the risk factors of baby caries.

Accept oral health knowledge

During the examination process, parents should be taught oral health knowledge for different age groups, such as how to block the spread of cariogenic bacteria in the early stages of tooth eruption, gradually feeding regularly to reduce night milk, and cultivating the habit of brushing teeth for babies in the morning and evening.

Control the frequency of sweet foods with the eruption of teeth, and practice chewing food.

Learn how to brush your baby's teeth

Guide parents to learn how to brush teeth for babies of all ages, teach them the correct brushing positions, movements, and methods, and master the key points and precautions for brushing teeth.

Accept professional caries prevention measures

Accept professional caries prevention measures, such as local fluoride application. Parents don't have to worry, these procedures are simple, painless, and non-invasive, and can be completed in knee to knee position.

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In addition, regular oral examinations can help babies become familiar with the oral diagnosis and treatment environment from an early age and take early preventive measures.

Early measures are simple and non-invasive, which can reduce babies' fear of the dental environment. This way, parents are willing to regularly bring their babies for oral examinations, and will not delay seeking medical attention due to fear of crying.

Finally, it is important to remind parents that their baby should undergo regular oral examinations as soon as they start teething. Based on the risk assessment results, the follow-up time can be determined, which can be one month, three months, six months, etc. The actual situation of the baby should be taken into account to facilitate early detection and treatment of problems.

Waiting until the baby shows severe symptoms before seeking medical attention may have a greater adverse impact on their health.

Minor Heat

July 7th

Shu means hot, and Xiaoshu means little heat.

There is a saying among the people that goes, 'In the heat of summer, steam up and cook down.'.

Xiaoshu begins to enter the hottest period of the year, known as the "three hottest periods". The three hottest periods usually occur between Xiaoshu and Chushu, and are the hottest, humid, and hot periods of the year.

When the weather is hot, people tend to enjoy drinking chilled drinks and eating ice cream, which are mostly sweet foods that pose a great threat to oral health.

One well-known example is that eating sweets can cause dental caries.

Today, let's talk about why eating sweets can easily cause dental caries?

Also, let me teach you how to eat sweets scientifically?

Why does eating sweets easily cause dental caries?

Sweet foods contain a lot of sugar

Sugar includes monosaccharides, polysaccharides, etc., and different sugars have different effects on dental caries.

The sugars in rice, fruits and vegetables are polysaccharides such as starch and dietary fiber.

Sweet foods contain a large amount of glucose, sucrose, and other sugars, which are more likely to cause dental caries.

Sweet foods usually have a high viscosity

Many sweets such as cake, ice cream, chocolate, etc. have a high viscosity and remain on the surface of teeth, making them difficult to clean.

Sweet foods can be utilized by bacteria

There are many cariogenic bacteria in the accumulated dental plaque on the surface of teeth, which can be nourished by sweet foods.

In other words, sweets can promote the growth and reproduction of these bacteria.

In addition, bacteria can also use the sugar in sweet foods to generate various acids, which will adhere to the surface of teeth, causing sustained damage to the teeth and eventually forming visible cavities.

How to eat sweets scientifically?

Now that everyone knows why eating sweets can easily cause dental caries, how can we scientifically eat sweets to reduce their damage to teeth?

Control the intake of sweet foods

The reason why sweets cause dental caries is not only due to their high sugar content and viscosity, but also the intake and frequency of sweets play a crucial role in the occurrence of dental caries.

Controlling the intake and frequency of sweets can minimize the continuous production of acid by bacteria that can damage teeth and reduce the likelihood of dental caries.

Timely clean teeth

Rinsing your mouth promptly after eating sweets, brushing your teeth effectively in the morning and evening, and using dental floss correctly can remove most of the bacteria and food residue on the surface of your teeth, reducing the time for bacteria and sugar to act on the surface of your teeth.

Maintaining oral hygiene is the most effective measure to prevent dental caries!

Reasonably choose sugar substitutes

Sugar substitutes have a sweet taste that is very similar to traditional sugars, but they have almost no calories and are usually not utilized by bacteria, resulting in low cariogenic properties.

So choosing sugar substitutes reasonably is not only beneficial for preventing dental caries, but also for controlling weight.

Enhance tooth resistance

The deep grooves on the surface of teeth are prone to accumulating food residues and are difficult to clean thoroughly. Groove sealing can be achieved by filling the deep grooves on the surface of teeth with a sealing agent, so that food will not enter or remain in the grooves. After the grooves become shallower, they are also easier to clean.

The application of fluoride can enhance teeth 'resistance to acid.

Both methods are effective measures for preventing dental caries.

In addition, it is recommended to undergo regular oral examinations every six months to one year to achieve early detection, diagnosis, and treatment.