Tooth decay
Establishing good eating habits by limiting sugary snacks and drinkscan help your child avoid tooth decay. Regular visits to the dentist at an early age should also be encouraged.
It's important to teach your child how to clean their teeth properly and regularly. Your dentistcanshowyou how to do this. Younger children should use a children's toothpaste, but make sure to read the label about how to use it.
Children should still brush their teeth twice a day, especially before bedtime.
Once cavities have formed in the enamel, the plaque and bacteria can reach the dentine (the softer, bone-like material underneath the enamel). As the dentine is softer than the enamel, the process of tooth decay speeds up.
Without treatment, bacteria will enter the pulp (the soft centre of the tooth that contains nerves and blood vessels). At this stage, your nerves will be exposed to bacteria, usually making your tooth painful.
The bacteria can cause a dental abscess in the pulp and the infection could spread into the bone, causing another type of abscess .
Read about tooth decay (dental caries), when acids in your mouth dissolve the outer layers of your teeth.
Tooth decay may not cause any pain. However, if you have dental caries you might have: toothache either continuous pain keeping you awake or occasional sharp pain without an obvious cause tooth sens
Visit your dentist regularly, so early tooth decay can be treated as soon as possible and the prevention of decay can begin.Tooth decay is much easier and cheaperto treat in its early stages.Dentists
NHS charges are set by the government and are standard for all NHS patients. Charges are assessed each year and usually change every April. Some people don't have to pay for dental treatment, includin
Although tooth decay is acommon problem, it's often entirely preventable. The best way to avoid tooth decay is to keep your teeth and gums as healthy as possible. For example, you should: visit your
Establishing good eating habits by limiting sugary snacks and drinkscan help your child avoid tooth decay. Regular visits to the dentist at an early age should also be encouraged. It's important to te