After the start of the new education and training period, millions of students started classes. However, experts warn parents against tooth loss after irregular nutrition that may occur in schools, especially in primary school-age children. Dentist Tunahan Ulaş stated that irregular nutrition that may occur in schools leads to tooth decay and tooth loss.
With the start of the new academic year, millions of students started classes. With the opening of schools, warnings came from experts to parents. It was stated that irregular nutrition that may occur in schools, especially in primary school-age children, can lead to tooth loss. Making statements on the subject, dentist Tunahan Ulaş from Mavi Dental Clinic said, “Schools have opened, our children already have dental problems, and our deficiencies increase even more in terms of both nutrition and care during the school process. In such a situation, we may encounter more cavities. First of all, we need to do regular oral care. We need to give children the habit of oral care. Regular tooth brushing is the most important factor. Apart from that, in terms of nutrition, many different options are now being offered in our canteens. Healthy fruit and sandwiches are now on sale. This is a really good thing. As much as possible, children should be kept away from junk food, chocolate, biscuits, chips or fruit juices. Because these cause tooth decay. It is important that they turn to healthier foods. These can be fruit, sandwiches. We should recommend our children to consume healthy foods. Actually, we don't have the chance to brush our teeth in schools. But maybe I can suggest a small nuance. Fiber foods can support the cleaning of teeth in the mouth, so when you put an apple-style fruit in your child's lunchbox, when your child eats an apple after eating, it actually helps to clean their teeth in a certain physical way. Apart from that, as I said, when we come to the home environment, we should brush our teeth regularly. It is not only valid for children. This regular brushing is also important for adults. We should brush our teeth before going to school, we should brush our teeth regularly after breakfast, especially before going to bed. When there is regular tooth brushing, the possibility of caries decreases.”
“Tooth brushing should be done from birth, not after a certain age”
Stating that tooth brushing in children should be done regularly from birth, not after a certain age, doctor Ulaş said, “Brushing is not something to be done after a certain age. Oral care is something that should be done regularly from the birth of the child. If you ask how to do it, the baby's oral care should be done by the parents. There are toothbrushes with special toothbrushes for babies or we can use an old clean cheesecloth to clean the palate. Adults should teach children the habit of brushing their teeth by setting an example. Regular tooth brushing is very important. After the age of 6, when permanent teeth come out during the mixed dentition period, the decays of milk teeth also spread to permanent teeth.”
“Children should be checked by a dentist every 6 months”
Stating that taking children to the dentist every 6 months, if possible, prevents tooth loss at a later age, Dr. Ulaş said, “Regular dentist control is very important. If possible, it is necessary to show our children to the dentist every 6 months. Today, children are afraid of dentists and dentists are used as a material to scare children. This is very wrong, dentists are friends of children. The child who is regularly taken to the dentist is both accustomed to the dentist's chair and the dentist intervenes by seeing the caries that the parents sometimes fail to pay attention to during regular checks. There is also a common misconception that deciduous teeth will fall out anyway and we should have them extracted when they decay, which is very wrong. Because milk teeth come in the place of permanent teeth. Permanent teeth are based on milk teeth. In the early loss of milk teeth, permanent teeth may or may not erupt crookedly. Therefore, the treatment of this is very important. Yes, milk teeth will go, but on average, the front teeth change at the age of 6, but the back teeth remain until the age of 12. Therefore, if there is decay in milk teeth as much as possible, this should be treated.”
