By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah, GNA
Tema, April 10, GNA – Ms Ellen Asubroni, the Dental Therapist at the Tema General Hospital, has urged parents to take good care of their children’s teeth to prevent dental cavities.
She said dental cavities, also known as tooth decay or caries, were the breakdown of the teeth due to acids produced by bacteria.
Ms Asubroni gave the advice during a dental sensitisation exercise at the Tema General Hospital for residents of the area, adding that every child was at risk of contracting tooth decay, because bacteria in the mouth fed on sugars from the food and drinks they consumed.
She said the bacteria’s acid gradually damaged the outer surface of the tooth and could cause more damage if care was not taken, leaving a cavity or a hole in the tooth.
“Let’s also take good care of our children so that their teeth do not come off prematurely or lose them through infectious decay,” she stated.
The dental therapist explained that prevention of caries included regular cleaning of teeth, low-sugar diet foods, using fluoride toothpaste, and flossing the teeth, among others.
She explained that bacteria from a decayed tooth often attached themselves to the toothbrush after being by a patient and could infect other people through close contact with other toothbrushes or if the infected brush was used by another person.
She also warned nursing mothers to be cautious of licking their baby’s fingers by way of playing when breastfeeding them or otherwise, because they could easily infect their infants if they happened to have caries.
The bacteria could travel through the saliva stucked onto the baby’s hand into the mouth when they later put it into their mouth,” she said.
She appealed to parents to ensure their children regularly brushed their teeth at least twice a day (morning and evening) before bedtime and should limit the frequency of feeding them sweets.
GNA