Black Teeth Stains in Children

When should children start brushing their teeth?

From the months when the first teeth appear in the mouth (6-8 months), the process of cleaning the teeth should be started. After breakfast and before sleeping at night, the teeth should be cleaned by the parents with the help of a clean cheesecloth, gauze or finger brush.

With the eruption of milk molars at the age of 2.5-3 years, the child should be accustomed to the process of brushing their teeth with the help of a toothbrush and it should not be forgotten that the brushing process cannot be completed by the child’s brushing. For this reason, care should be taken to brush the back teeth, which are difficult for children to reach, with the help of parents.

Is it bad for teeth to drink milk for children at night?

It is harmful for children’s teeth to sleep with milk at night or to sleep with milk residues in their mouth after drinking milk. This is because milk contains special sugar in its structure, even if no sugar is added. This sugar in the milk’s own structure is tooth-decaying and cannot be removed from the tooth surface due to the decrease in salivary flow at night. As a result of these factors, tooth decay begins to occur, especially starting from the junction of the teeth and gums. As a result, the so-called ‘baby bottle caries’, which is observed especially in the incisors, occurs. For this reason, it should be avoided to drink milk during the night, ideally the teeth should be cleaned by brushing after drinking milk, or if nothing is possible, at least it should be rinsed with water or water should be drunk after drinking milk.

Why do children have black spots on their teeth? What should be considered?

The color changes observed in the teeth vary, and black spots on the teeth may be due to drug use (such as iron preparations, vitamin syrups containing iron) during infancy and early childhood, as well as stains observed at the beginning of dental caries. When such stains are noticed, it is necessary to consult the dentist and investigate the cause.

Are black spots on children’s teeth harmful to teeth?

Since the existing stains and black stains observed in the initial stages of caries will cause the formation and progression of dental caries, its treatment should be carried out and the progression of caries should be prevented. Black spots without initial caries, on the other hand, are useful to be cleaned because they look bad aesthetically and can prevent the traces of caries formation.

Is there a treatment for black spots on the teeth of children?

If the existing stains are the beginning of caries, the progression of caries can be prevented by performing the necessary filling procedures, and it is possible to remove the black spots without initial caries from the teeth by cleaning and brushing regularly.

Fatih Hospital

Chief Physician Dt. Ayça TENLI KURT