{"id":4812,"date":"2022-07-20T22:41:05","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T05:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dentalcareofriverside.net\/cavities-the-most-common-childhood-disease\/"},"modified":"2022-07-20T22:41:05","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T05:41:05","slug":"cavities-the-most-common-childhood-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dentalcareofriverside.net\/cavities-the-most-common-childhood-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Cavities: The Most Common Childhood Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dentalcareofriverside.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/childhood-caries-2022_700.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"543\" height=\"543\"><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>40% OF KIDS WILL<\/b> develop at least one cavity by the time they turn eleven, which makes tooth decay the most common disease of childhood. That might seem scary, but parents can make a big difference, and that starts with understanding what causes cavities.<\/p>\n<h3>Sugary Drinks Cause Cavities<\/h3>\n<p>One major culprit is sugary drinks. That doesn&rsquo;t just mean soda. <strong>We think of fruit juice as being healthier, but it&rsquo;s just as bad!<\/strong> And the worst way to drink it is by sipping it throughout the day. It&rsquo;s so harmful to the teeth that the results are called &ldquo;bottle rot.&rdquo; Baby bottle tooth decay can also happen with sippy cups and even breastfeeding!<\/p>\n<p>If a baby&rsquo;s gums and teeth aren&rsquo;t properly cleaned after feeding, the sugary milk residue left in their mouth increases the risk of tooth decay.<\/p>\n<h3>So Do Sugary Snacks!<\/h3>\n<p>Sugar in solid form is a problem too. <strong>Most of the snacks kids tend to love most are loaded with sugar.<\/strong> If they&rsquo;re snacking on these sugary treats all day, then their saliva won&rsquo;t get a chance to wash the sugar away and neutralize the pH of their mouths. That means their teeth are constantly bathed in acid, leading to enamel erosion and decay.<\/p>\n<p>We recommend trading sugary snacks for sliced fruits and veggies, especially if your child needs the energy boost from a snack in between meals.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0iN6ZXnTDcc?rel=0\" width=\"543\" height=\"305\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Preventing Bottle Rot<\/h3>\n<p>We aren&rsquo;t here to insist that you never let your child touch a drop of soda or fruit juice again, but <strong>we recommend limiting access to drinks other than water to mealtimes<\/strong>. A pacifier will be better for their teeth than continuous access to fruit juice. It&rsquo;s safe to use a bottle of water after the baby is six months old or a sippy cup of water for toddlers. (Another benefit to water aside from better oral health: no risk of stains or stickiness on clothing, carpet, or furniture!)<\/p>\n<p>With infants, clean out the milk residue after every meal. As soon as their baby teeth begin to appear, start brushing them with a soft toothbrush and only a tiny smear of toothpaste, since babies can&rsquo;t rinse and spit.<\/p>\n<h3>What If My Child Already Has Tooth Decay?<\/h3>\n<p>A child who is already showing signs of tooth decay should see the dentist. We can assess how advanced the decay is, deal with the cavities, and come up with a plan with you to prevent further problems. An easy step to take at home is to limit your child&rsquo;s consumption of sugary treats and drinks while maintaining good oral hygiene habits. We can help protect their teeth with fluoride varnish and dental sealants.<\/p>\n<h4>Your child&rsquo;s healthy smile is our priority!<\/h4>\n<h6>Top image used under <span style=\"color: #2a7abd;\"><a style=\"color: #2a7abd;\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/share-your-work\/public-domain\/cc0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC0 Public Domain license<\/a><\/span>. Image cropped and modified from original.<\/h6>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #d9d9d9;\">The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.<\/span><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><b>40% OF KIDS WILL<\/b> develop at least one cavity by the time they turn eleven, which makes tooth decay the most common disease of childhood. That&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4811,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,19,23,17],"tags":[],"post_flags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dentalcareofriverside.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4812"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dentalcareofriverside.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dentalcareofriverside.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dentalcareofriverside.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dentalcareofriverside.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dentalcareofriverside.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dentalcareofriverside.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dentalcareofriverside.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dentalcareofriverside.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dentalcareofriverside.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4812"},{"taxonomy":"post_flag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dentalcareofriverside.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_flags?post=4812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}