Teething

As the baby teeth start to push to the gum line, they can cause baby some discomfort known as teething. Some children suffer more than others. The pain from each tooth should stop when it is visible.

Here are some of symptoms

Chew and bite on things than usual, swollen gum, more dribbling than usual, hot red cheeks, irritability

How to cope with teeth

  • Keep gum and teeth clean
  • Giving them a chilled(not frozen hard) teeth ring to chew on may help to sooth the gums
  • Apply teething gel on the gums
  • Never place pain killer against the tooth or gum
  • Early childhood caries(ECC) also known as baby bottle caries is a syndrome characterized by sever decay in the teeth of infant and young children from 0-71 months old

What are the causes of early childhood caries(ECC)

  • Bottle feeding on demand during the day ang while in bed
  • Nutrition unrestricted consumption of beveragea and food containing fermentable varbohydrates(eg. Juice drinks, soft drink, milk, biscuite can cause decay after eruption of the first teeth
  • Breast feeding on demand, unrestricted
  • Bacteria are transmitted soon from parents to a child, parents with untreated decay teeth will increase risk of decay in the child. Cariogenic bacteria(streptococcus mutans) in parents will transmit to the child through saliva contamination.

Gum disease

If plaque is not removed from gumline by regular brushing, it can form a solid layer on the teeth called tartar. Inflammed gum will be red, swollen and easy to brush while brushing