If decay is not properly treated, symptoms will continue to worsen, baby teeth can be lost, and even permanent teeth can be affected.
The tooth decay process is also called 'caries'. In the early stages the teeth can develop white chalky areas. In the later stages, teeth have brown or black areas. The upper four front baby teeth are most commonly affected.
Bacteria will eventually get to exposed soft tissues in the pulp chamber when the decay is left untreated. This leads to an infection, which leads to excruciating toothaches. A tooth infection can spread to areas like the brain where it can be life-threatening.
Treatment will depend on your child's symptoms, age, and general health. It will also depend on how severe the condition is. In most cases, treatment requires removing the decayed part of the tooth and replacing it with a filling. Fillings are materials placed in teeth to repair damage caused by tooth decay.
If tooth decay has spread to the pulp (in the centre of the tooth, containing blood and nerves) – this may be removed in a process known as root canal treatment. If the tooth is so badly damaged that it can't be restored – it may need to be removed.
What Does Tooth Decay Look Like in Babies, Toddlers and Preschoolers? In its early stages, tooth decay typically manifests itself as small white or brown spots on children's teeth. As the disease progresses, the discolored spots will turn into small holes (cavities).
In conclusion, the maximum period that an untreated tooth abscess can sustain is 12 months or more. But, such longevity is associated with dangerous complications such as sepsis or even death. Schedule your appointment with a dentist today and get the treatment on time!
Depending on the type and extent of the damage, it may be days, weeks, months, and sometimes even years before the tooth falls out.
A dead tooth can stay in your mouth for up to several days or months; however, keeping a dead tooth may lead to problems with your jaw and also result in the spreading of decay and bacteria to other teeth. Most dentists will recommend having the dead tooth extracted and replaced with a denture, bridge, or implant.
Dental neglect can be an indicator of general child neglect. Inadequately treated dental disease may have significant long-term impacts on the physical and psychological well-being of children.
Poisoning in the bloodstream. Although not an immediate consequence, dentists strongly advise that letting rotten teeth go unattended can lead to blood poisoning. This happens because the rot from the teeth keeps getting deposited into the mouth, and in most cases, it's swallowed along with saliva.
The more frequently a child's mouth comes into contact with saliva containing cavity-causing bacteria, the more likely it is that harmful bacteria will colonize the child's mouth. And if cavity-causing bacteria colonize the child's mouth, the child is more likely to develop cavities.
Whether from trauma or cavities, your child's baby tooth can still serve a purpose even if it is dead. Your child can wait for their tooth to fall out naturally and the new healthy permanent tooth to take the baby tooth's place.
If the tooth in question suffers from a dead nerve, the technical term for this is a 'pulpless tooth' or 'necrotic pulp'. If this does happen, the tooth will actually fall out by itself.
It can, on average, take anywhere from six months to four or five years before a cavity requires treatment. The length of time it takes will vary on a case-by-case basis because the conditions of your mouth differ daily.
If the root is not dissolved, the baby tooth will not fall out. When this happens, the new adult tooth will try to erupt anyway. This is why you sometimes see “double row shark teeth” in children's mouths. The adult tooth has erupted behind the baby tooth without dissolving the root, leaving two teeth in one space.
Assuming there is no infection, watch to make sure that this gray tooth gets loose around the same time as the other front tooth. This will typically happen at age 5-7. If It doesn't get loose on its own, again, most likely you will have to get the tooth pulled so that the permanent tooth can come in safely.
How are teeth extracted? During an extraction treatment, the dentist usually numbs the area with lidocaine. Some patients may also need nitrous oxide gas to help them stay calm and reduce pain. Dentists use tools called elevators and forceps to enlarge the socket, loosen, and remove the tooth.
This is a sign of early decay. Tooth decay can be stopped or reversed at this point. Enamel can repair itself by using minerals from saliva, and fluoride from toothpaste or other sources. But if the tooth decay process continues, more minerals are lost.
Untreated cavities can cause pain and infections that may lead to problems with eating, speaking, playing, and learning. Untreated cavities can lead to abscess (a severe infection) under the gums which can spread to other parts of the body and have serious, and in rare cases fatal, results.
What causes tooth decay in a child? Tooth decay is caused by bacteria and other things. It can happen when foods containing carbohydrates (sugars and starches) are left on the teeth. Such foods include milk, soda, raisins, candy, cake, fruit juices, cereals, and bread.
If a milk tooth receives a hard knock, then it may discolour and start to turn grey, yellow or black in colour. This often happens two to three weeks after the initial accident. This means that the tooth's blood supply has been affected and it is struggling to get the necessary amount of blood.
When baby teeth get injured, they "bruise" on the inside. It doesn't matter if your little one's tooth isn't cracked or chipped or knocked out. If the trauma is strong enough, then it can affect the internal blood supply of the tooth. As a result, blood will start leaking into the tooth, making it change its color.
The traumatized tooth may darken over time. This just means that red blood cells have been forced into the hard part of the tooth from the blood vessels in the nerve (pulp) tissue. The traumatized baby teeth may change into an array of colors, from pink to dark gray.