Causes of black plaque on a child's teeth: treatment

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Darkening of teeth in children is common, and parents, noticing this, are very worried. There are indeed grounds for worries, because this phenomenon indicates the presence of problems with the child's health, and they must be resolved as soon as possible.

Black plaque on a child's teeth can indicate serious health problems, and this is not always only a dental problem. Still, you should initially seek help from a dentist so that he determines how to treat this ailment, and what tests to take to identify the cause of plaque on the teeth.

Causes of plaque on teeth

There are many ways in which plaque appears on the teeth, and not always the reasons are dental. Therefore, it is worth discussing the possible options for darkening the teeth of a child.

Prenatal reasons

Every woman should understand that during pregnancy she is responsible not only for her own health, but also for the health of her unborn baby. Black plaque on the teeth of a child can occur due to the fact that the teeth were deformed in the womb.

In the second half of pregnancy, tooth enamel forms, so it is extremely important to carefully monitor your health and nutrition.

It is with nutrition that a woman receives all the necessary nutrients and vitamins that are important for the full development of a child. There are several reasons that can lead to the formation of dark plaque in a child's tooth enamel:

• the pregnant woman had an unbalanced diet, the products contained a large amount of fluoride, iron and calcium, which led to the formation of dark spots on the enamel of the baby's teeth;
• the woman used certain medications during the period of bearing a child;
• the pregnant woman has had a serious viral disease;
• during pregnancy, the woman consumed alcoholic beverages and smoked, these bad habits can lead to serious pathologies in the child.

Non-dental reasons

There are also cases when dark plaque is easily removed with a toothbrush, then the problem cannot be attributed to dental, the reason will be different. Such a plaque can appear if:

• the child has a weak immune system, which is why his body cannot cope with the development of bacteria, which leads to the formation of plaque;
• the enamel may acquire a dark tint if the baby has been prescribed medications with a large amount of iron in the composition, then the color of the plaque may be purple or brown;
• taking antibacterial drugs for a long time;
• the child is in a room with dry air, due to which the secretion of salivary fluid is disturbed, and the oral cavity is not cleared of bacteria;
• Priestley's plaque is a common cause of darkening of the enamel in a child, such an ailment can occur only in children;
• most often, darkening occurs on baby teeth, but if you do not carry out treatment, then the problem will go to the child's permanent teeth.

Dental causes of black plaque

Before learning how to treat an ailment, and what tests to take for this, you should identify what is the reason for black plaque on a child's teeth. There are dental reasons for the appearance of dark plaque on the teeth, but there are not many of them. The reasons include:

• incorrectly selected toothpaste, which affects the color of the baby's tooth enamel, usually such a paste contains little fluoride;
• hypoplasia of a hereditary nature, this is a disease in which the tooth enamel is not sufficiently developed, which is why it begins to darken;
• parents do not follow the hygiene of the child's oral cavity well, this leads to the appearance of caries, the ailment quickly affects the baby teeth of babies.

Danger of dark plaque on teeth

The first thing worth mentioning is the deterioration of the appearance of the teeth, but besides this, darkening of the enamel can carry other consequences for the health of the baby. We have already figured out what is the cause of this problem, now it is worth learning about the possible complications of the disease. These include:

• the appearance of bad breath;
• complete destruction of enamel;
• the appearance of caries on the teeth;
• the formation of stones;
• inflammation of the gums;
• the mucous membrane begins to bleed;
• inflammation begins to spread;
• gingivitis develops;
• teeth become hypersensitive.

Diagnostics

To carry out a full diagnosis, you should seek the help of a dentist.

The doctor will be able to choose the most optimal solution to the problem, and he will also tell you what tests should be taken to make sure that the darkening of the enamel is not a symptom of some kind of disease. Next, the dentist will solve the problem.

How to carry out the treatment

Many parents want to know how to treat such an ailment in a child, but it is impossible to carry out treatment at home, as this will not give a positive result. You should immediately seek help from a dentist, who will assess the degree of tooth damage, and then select the most appropriate treatment option.

Treatment options:

• the doctor treats the affected areas of the tooth so that the enamel does not deteriorate further;
• the specialist determines the degree of damage to the teeth, after which he prescribes the installation of fillings, if necessary;
• if the child has small signs of carious destruction, the dentist recommends silvering the enamel.

Silvering is a good way to stop tooth decay and also to eliminate microorganisms on the enamel surface, but it will stain your child's teeth darkly. But it is worth considering that the procedure will be effective and painless only at the initial stage of the development of the disease.

Nevertheless, when the first signs of darkening of the enamel appear, parents should show the child to a specialist. The appearance of black plaque can lead to quite serious complications. If the enamel darkens completely, it will begin to deteriorate, which will lead to increased tooth sensitivity. This will not only cause discomfort, but also pain while eating.