Do I need to fill my decayed baby teeth?

Primary teeth are the teeth that children have before their new teeth are replaced. The resistance of deciduous teeth is relatively low. If children do not have an adequate diet and often eat sweets, they will develop tooth decay. Since baby teeth are replaced at a certain age, many parents do not know whether baby teeth that have become cavities need to be filled. In fact, if deciduous teeth are decayed, they need to be filled in time. The reasons are introduced below!

1. Be cautious when extracting deciduous teeth before the tooth replacement period

In fact, whether deciduous teeth should be extracted or filled when they are decayed is a question that depends on age factors: generally, deciduous teeth that have not yet reached the stage of shedding must be treated. Tooth extraction will affect the child's eating and indirectly affect nutrient absorption, leading to developmental delay in the child.

2. If the deciduous teeth are decayed, they should be filled in time

Dental caries in deciduous teeth is not just painful. If timely measures are not taken to treat it, it will be very harmful to the baby. Because if the deciduous teeth are decayed, it will cause periodontitis or pulpitis, infect the permanent tooth germs, cause the incomplete development of the permanent tooth enamel, and affect the eruption of the baby's permanent teeth.

If the deciduous teeth fall out prematurely, the permanent teeth that grow next to them will take their place, and the permanent teeth that should have grown under the deciduous teeth will be "homeless". A struggle will occur, and the teeth will become misplaced and uneven, affecting their appearance.

Moreover, the cavities in deciduous teeth will cause pain to the baby when eating, affecting the baby's eating and further affecting the baby's development. Because of the pain, the baby will get used to chewing with the teeth on the other side, which will cause the baby's jaw to develop asymmetrically.

3. How to protect teeth during tooth replacement period

Nowadays, many children have orthodontic treatments. Some bad habits during the period of tooth replacement may lead to malocclusion in the future. It should be noted that, especially the thumb sucking habit, thumb sucking is a behavior that infants and young children first learn as a neural reflex. If it continues after the age of 4-6, it is a bad habit and can lead to obvious uneven teeth. For example, when sucking the thumb, placing the thumb between the erupting upper and lower front teeth will affect the normal eruption of the front teeth and make it impossible for the front teeth to bite.

In addition to thumb sucking, there are also licking teeth, biting pencils, biting lips, unilateral chewing, etc. Children should pay special attention to correcting these bad habits during the teeth replacement period to prevent future malocclusion of teeth.