Do decayed deciduous teeth need to be filled?

We have all experienced the period of tooth replacement, which means that a person will have two sets of teeth in his lifetime. The deciduous teeth are an important part of the child's chewing organs and are the first group of teeth to erupt, usually starting when the child is 6 years old. When the child is about 2 years old, 20 deciduous teeth will generally erupt, and these deciduous teeth all need to be replaced. If the deciduous teeth are decayed, do they need to be filled? Next, we will introduce the question of whether carious deciduous teeth need to be filled.

Because the dentin of deciduous teeth is thin and poorly calcified, once damaged, the disease progresses rapidly. Therefore, they must not only be filled, but also filled as soon as possible. Specific problems should be analyzed specifically. For example, there is no need to fill teeth that are about to fall out. Deciduous molars are the teeth that are most prone to dental caries. The first deciduous molars fall out naturally at the age of 9 to 10 years old, and the second deciduous molars at the age of 12 to 13 years old. Bad deciduous teeth that are approaching the period of tooth replacement can be treated by extraction, and new permanent teeth can quickly grow to replace the extracted deciduous teeth. However, if the deciduous molars are extracted too early, it will affect children's eating and cause the teeth to be tilted and uneven. Therefore, age should be considered when deciding whether to supplement or remove tissue.

1. When a child is 6 years old, a new permanent tooth grows behind the second deciduous molar. This tooth occupies a very important position in the tooth arrangement. If the second deciduous molars are extracted prematurely, the sixth molars will move forward or tilt, causing the front and back teeth to become misplaced. This is not only unsightly, but also difficult to clean and affects chewing. Therefore, the workload of protecting the second deciduous molars as much as possible until they fall out normally is a thankless task for patients and a waste of effort for doctors.

2. Pain from drilling: Since the teeth will already have spontaneous pain during the acute inflammatory period, drilling will add to the pain and it is difficult for the patient to bear. However, if the rotten tooth is not drilled open to let the inflamed substances flow out, they will spread under the tooth root and into the alveolar bone. Therefore, sometimes anesthesia has to be given before drilling, which increases the pain and is even more difficult for children to accept.

3. The teeth are not strong enough: When a tooth rots and causes pain, it is usually because the tooth is extensively destroyed, with little good tooth tissue left. In addition, the pulp is inflamed and necrotic, and cannot supply nutrients to the tooth tissue, so the tooth becomes brittle. Weak and brittle teeth are easily cracked or broken.

4. Fillings are relatively easy to fall out: If the tooth is extensively damaged, the filling will be difficult to stay in place and to fill securely. Some cannot even be filled and need to be repaired with metal crowns, plastic crowns or Chinese toon crowns, which is time-consuming and laborious.

5. The long-term effect is not as good as that of vital pulp teeth: Compared with teeth that do not need treatment and are restored once, a small part of teeth that have been treated and then restored due to pulp inflammation may become inflamed and painful again several years later, so the long-term effect is not as good as that of teeth that have been restored once.

Deciduous teeth are the tools for children to eat. If they are decayed, they will cause toothache and difficulty in chewing food, which will cause great pain to the children. After the introduction of the above content, we are familiar with the answer to the question of whether carious deciduous teeth need to be filled. The doctor once again reminded parents that if their children’s teeth are damaged, they should be repaired early and not wait until it hurts.