Caries Risk Assessment, Fluoride Varnish, and Counseling

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Eating Patterns

Caries Risk Assessment, Fluoride Varnish, and Counseling Early Childhood Caries: A Brief Review Eating Patterns

It's not just WHAT, but HOW, children eat:

  • After sugar ingestion, oral bacteria ferment carbohydrates, producing acids that rapidly lower plaque pH.
  • The resulting acidic environment promotes enamel demineralization.
  • Sugars are cleared by swallowing and salivary dilution. Buffering action of saliva restores pH and favors remineralization.
  • If sugars are consumed frequently, there is insufficient time for the remineralization process to occur. The tooth is subjected to continued demineralization and the caries process progresses.
  • If sugars are consumed infrequently, teeth have time to fully remineralize and the caries process halts.

Change in level of pH of tooth surface due to sugar consumption over time

phscale

Reference

Pitts NB, Zero DT, Marsh PD, et al. Dental caries. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017; 3:17030.

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