Common Problems

Tooth Decay
Caries, or tooth decay, is a preventable disease. While caries might not endanger your life, they may negatively impact your quality of life. Primary teeth can become abscessed and will hurt just like permanent ones.

When your teeth and gums are consistently exposed to large amounts of starches and sugars, acids may form that begin to eat away at tooth enamel. Carbohydrate-rich foods such as candy, cookies, soft drinks and even fruit juices leave deposits on your teeth. Those deposits bond with the bacteria that normally survive in your mouth and form plaque. The combination of deposits and plaque forms acids that can damage the mineral structure of teeth, with tooth decay resulting. Decay in between primary teeth is almost always relating to something that the child is eating or drinking that contains sugars.

Sensitive Teeth
Your teeth expand and contract in reaction to changes in temperature. Dental filings and tooth enamel expand at slightly different rates. New or particularly deep fillings are often sensitive. Over time, tooth enamel can be worn down, especially primary teeth – tooth grinding (or bruxing) in the primary dentition is very common and mostly harmless and many children will outgrow it. Newly erupted permanent teeth are often sensitive, but this usually gets better with age.

Bad Breath (Halitosis)
Daily brushing and flossing helps to prevent the buildup of food particles, plaque and bacteria in your mouth. Food particles left in the mouth deteriorate and cause bad breath. While certain foods, such as garlic or onions, may create temporary bad breath, consistent bad breath may be a sign of gum disease or another dental problem, especially in adults. Bad breath in children is often relation to enlarged tonsils and adenoids (bacteria can accumulate in their folds) or draining sinuses.

Canker Sores
Canker sores (aphthous ulcers) are small sores inside the mouth that often recur. Generally lasting one or two weeks, topical agents mostly provide relief only for a short time. They will go away by themselves and not much can be done to either prevent them or make them go away any sooner. The canker sore has a white or gray base surrounded by a red border and, while painful, are mostly harmless. We just don’t know what causes them.

Orthodontic Problems
A bite that does not meet properly (a malocclusion) can be inherited, or some types may be acquired. Some causes of malocclusion include missing or extra teeth, crowded teeth or misaligned jaws. Accidents or developmental issues, such as finger or thumb sucking over an extended period of time, may cause malocclusions.