Fluoride is a natural mineral that we can get from water and various foods. The abundance of fluoride in drinking water increases the resistance of the teeth to decay. In dentistry, especially after three years of age, fluoride administration every six months is very important in protecting against caries. It is a very easy, painless procedure; it is also psychologically beneficial for children to meet the dentist through such procedures. With this process, the teeth become more powerful and healthy with the storage of fluoride on the teeth.

There are too many indentations and protrusions on the upper surface of the teeth. These formations are called fissures. Fissures are very easy to hold food residues. Especially in childhood, the teeth can decay easily when these areas are not cleaned well.  To prevent this, these indentations and protrusions are filled with a special filling, which we call fissure sealer, without any abrasion on the teeth.  Thus, it will not be possible for nutrients to be held in these regions and the possibility of decay will decrease very much. It is a painless and extremely easy procedure that is performed after ages 5-6.

It is a kind of appliance that is done in cases, where deciduous teeth should be extracted early for any reason. Once the deciduous tooth has been extracted, the neighboring teeth try to move and close the extraction space until the permanent tooth erupts. Thanks to the space maintainers, space is preserved until the permanent tooth erupts into the mouth. It is extremely easy and painless to apply.

The foundation of prevention of caries in children and the preventive dentistry is oral hygiene education, given at very young ages. It is very important that the oral care, tooth brushing and flossing procedures are taught in detail, checked after the application and completing any missing areas by the parents if there is any.

Regular-balanced nutrition and proper tooth brushing techniques during childhood are sufficient to prevent caries. Early recognition of the formation of caries is possible only if patients go to the dentist for periodic checks. Caries needs to be treated as soon as they are noticed.

The decayed part of the tooth must be cleaned and completed with filling. Some milk teeth may require extraction according to the circumstance. Space maintainers should be made immediately after extraction. The first choice is always to keep the deciduous tooth in the mouth until the permanent tooth comes.

Since children are often very mobile, they can be subjected to hits and falls. In these cases, tooth fractures and mouth injuries are common problems. If the tooth’s pulp is exposed after tooth fracture, root canal treatment may have to be done and permanent darkenings of the tooth color may occur.

If the treatment of the decaying tooth is neglected for too long and the problem reaches the jawbone from the root canals, severe inflammatory conditions may occur. The child’s face may swell and there may be severe pain. In this case, keeping the tooth in the mouth may present a danger to the health of the child and tooth extraction should be performed. In particular, if the tooth in question is a deciduous tooth and the permanent tooth’s time to erupt is close, there is no harm in tooth extraction. If there is a long period of time for the permanent tooth to erupt, the space of the tooth must be preserved by a space maintainer. Otherwise, the teeth next to space will move here, leaving no room for the permanent tooth. The result goes as far as disturbing the whole balance of the mouth.