Childhood, when permanent teeth began to grow, is the best time to teach youngsters good oral hygiene habits and how to make wise nutritional choices. By learning how to prevent compromising the enamel, the hard substance that covers teeth, children can minimize and perhaps prevent the dental problems that plague many adults.
The most widely accepted theory is that decay is a local phenomenon, caused when mouth bacteria consume sugar and excrete acid which begins to decay enamel. Some studies have demonstrated that certain foods, medical conditions, and bacteria can initiate decay. Others consider tooth decay to be the result of systemic disease conditions that originate elsewhere in the body but have an end result of causing decay in teeth.
Pediatric tooth decay is on the rise. Some research suggests that systemic causes including radiation exposure, hormonal abnormalities, and foreign proteins in food are to blame. Hypomineralization, caused mainly by a diet inadequate in minerals, increases a child’s susceptibility to dec
