Prevent and treat caries early, protect your gums, love your teeth from a young age, and have healthy teeth from a young age!

Dental caries, gingivitis, dental trauma and malocclusion are common oral problems among adolescents. Oral health is the guarantee for the healthy growth of adolescents. Parents should pay attention to and pay attention to the oral health problems of adolescents, and adolescents themselves should also improve their own oral health care capabilities.

1

Treat dental caries early to stop damage in time

Dental caries is commonly known as "tooth decay" or "cavities". There are a large number of various bacteria in our mouths. Some bacteria will stick to the surface of the teeth and form dental plaque. They will ferment food residues in the mouth, release acidic substances, and corrode the teeth. Over time, cavities will form. Dental caries is one of the most common oral diseases. Nearly half of the teenagers in my country are troubled by dental caries.

Most of the teeth with caries will form cavities on the surface of the teeth, and there may be symptoms such as food stuck in the teeth and sensitivity. There are also some hidden caries that are not easy to feel in the early stage and need to be discovered through examination by a dentist.

"If you don't fill a small hole, you will suffer from a big hole." Don't delay treatment because you think the cavity is small. When the cavity is small, filling treatment can prevent the tooth from being damaged further. If you allow caries to progress and invade the pulp, you will experience pain and other symptoms, and you need to undergo root canal treatment to remove the infected pulp. If you ignore the pain symptoms and the caries progresses to cause excessive damage to the tooth, you can only extract it and use implants to repair the missing tooth.

The most effective way to prevent dental caries is to regularly remove dental plaque (brushing teeth with a horizontal vibrating brush every morning and evening, and using dental floss to clean the interdental spaces), and to enhance the ability of teeth to resist bacterial erosion by improving the anti-caries ability of the tooth surface (regular fluoride application, pit and fissure sealing, etc.), improving eating habits (reducing the frequency of sweets intake, drinking less carbonated drinks), etc. At the same time, oral health examinations should be carried out once a year, and dental caries should be treated in a timely manner.

2

Brush your teeth and protect your gums

Red and swollen gums and bleeding when brushing teeth are very common among teenagers. Survey data show that the prevalence of gingivitis among teenagers in my country is as high as 70% to 90%. Gingival bleeding is an early warning signal of self-protection of periodontal tissues. When this happens, it means that the gums have been infected by bacteria. There may not be obvious pain at this time, but it is often accompanied by bleeding gums, red and swollen gums, bad breath, etc. when brushing teeth or eating.

The junction between the gums and teeth is a very delicate "cuff" structure, called the "gingival sulcus", which is a blind spot for brushing teeth and often accumulates a large number of bacteria. The bacteria will actively "marry" the calcium and phosphorus ions in the saliva to form dental calculus like scale, which will stimulate and compress the gums, causing redness, swelling and bleeding of the gums. At the same time, because adolescents are in the period of sexual maturity and have high hormone levels, the gums' response to local stimulation is enhanced, and the inflammatory response will be more obvious.

When the gums are inflamed, a doctor needs to clean the teeth to remove the plaque and tartar accumulated on the teeth, reduce the irritation to the gums, and the inflammation will be relieved within a few days, and the gums will return to normal. If not treated in time, the accumulation of tartar will cause great pressure on the periodontal tissues, develop into periodontitis, and in severe cases, cause the teeth to loosen and fall off.

Therefore, teenagers should pay attention to oral hygiene, brush their teeth carefully, correctly and effectively, rotate the toothbrush 45 degrees, aim the bristles at the "gingival sulcus", and make short-distance vibrations to remove bacteria in the "gingival sulcus" as much as possible. In addition, annual teeth cleaning can perfectly make up for brushing defects. If there are "warning signs" such as red, swollen and bleeding gums, bad breath, and tartar on the tongue side of the teeth that cannot be brushed off, you should seek medical attention in time and receive professional treatment.

3

Emergency self-help for tooth injury

Teenagers are very likely to be hit by sudden external impacts during their daily activities, which can lead to dental trauma. After dental trauma occurs, teeth may become loose, broken, or the gums may tear or bleed. In some cases, teeth may fall out or alveolar bone may be fractured. Accidental tooth damage or loss can cause certain damage to a teenager's appearance and psychology, affect daily social activities, and affect chewing and pronunciation functions.

Therefore, if a tooth is injured, it needs to be treated in time to avoid delaying the treatment opportunity. Here, we will introduce to you how to deal with dental injuries in an emergency.

When a tooth is broken, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible. When the broken tooth is large, the pulp may be exposed. The exposed pulp tissue is red and should be avoided from touching, hot or cold stimulation, or contamination from other things.

When a tooth is dislocated, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible to reposition and fix the dislocated tooth. When preserving a dislocated tooth, you should hold the crown of the tooth, do not pinch the root of the tooth with your hands, and do not brush the root of the tooth by yourself. The tooth should be soaked in saline or milk. If conditions are not favorable, you can also hold the tooth under the tongue and soak it in saliva. Avoid drying it, and go to the hospital as soon as possible to avoid missing the opportunity. The golden treatment time after a dislocated tooth is half an hour. The longer the delay, the lower the success rate of tooth replantation.

In order to reduce the possibility of dental trauma, young people are advised to pay attention to the following points: first, avoid intense or collision-prone activities; second, wear protective braces when playing basketball, boxing and other sports; third, if there is protrusion of teeth, actively undergo orthodontic treatment to reduce the probability of dental trauma.

4

Correct your teeth and grow up happily

In recent years, as people's requirements for beauty have gradually increased, more and more children have chosen to have their teeth corrected. During the winter and summer vacations, it is even difficult to get an appointment at the orthodontic department. Misaligned teeth, medically known as malocclusion, are mainly caused by congenital genetic factors or acquired environmental factors, such as diseases such as adenoids hypertrophy, and bad oral habits such as biting the lips.

There are many manifestations of malocclusion, the most common of which are crowded teeth, buck teeth, and overbite. Many parents do not pay enough attention to malocclusion, thinking that it only affects the child's appearance. However, in addition to affecting the appearance, malocclusion can also have other negative effects on children.

First, it affects oral health. Crowded and misaligned teeth are difficult to clean, and they are prone to caries and periodontal disease over time. Second, it affects oral function. Malocclusion may affect pronunciation, chewing, swallowing, breathing and other functions, and in severe cases may even cause sleep apnea syndrome. Third, it affects mental health. Malocclusion affects appearance, speech pronunciation, etc., and can also affect the self-confidence of adolescents, making them prone to inferiority and increasing their psychological burden.

Many parents have an outdated concept, thinking that they should wait until their children have replaced all their teeth before they can correct their teeth. Parents should be aware that the growth and development of their children is the process of developing malocclusion. Some conditions, such as overbite and buck teeth, may be due to abnormal jaw development. Once the opportunity is missed, the effect of wearing an appliance is very limited, and they may need to be treated with orthognathic surgery. Parents should develop the habit of taking their children to see a doctor regularly and undergo oral examinations so that they can detect malocclusion early and intervene in treatment early.

Oral health is closely related to overall health. Only if young people adhere to scientific oral hygiene maintenance, regular check-ups, and early treatment can they achieve “protecting teeth makes youth strong, and a healthy China makes the nation prosperous.”

Source: Beijing Science and Technology News