Booklet - Oral Health Care for your Children

What causes discoloration of infant teeth? Black stains appear on tooth surfaces Tooth discoloration can either be caused by accumulation of external pigment or color change within the tooth substance. It is common to find yellow, orange and black stain on the tooth surface. The yellow or orange stain is usually caused by poor oral hygiene in which accumulated plaque absorbs the color from food. This type of stain can simply be brushed off by toothbrushing. For the black stain, it is because the tooth surface has absorbed the color from food. Apart from affecting the appearance, it will not cause any harm to the teeth. It can be removed by professional cleaning. Internal discoloration of teeth mostly originates from dentine and pulp. For example, a tooth may appear grey because of pulpal necrosis, a consequence of decomposition of blood pigment that penetrates into the pulp after trauma or extensive tooth decay. In this case, the child should receive pulp treatment. What to do if my child's teeth have a trauma? Parents must stay calm and comfort the panic-stricken child. Bring your child to the dentist as soon as possible for a detailed oral examination, so that the dentist can carry out suitable treatment and follow up. Tooth discoloration due to the death of dental pulp after trauma What is fluoride? Is it good for children's health? Dental plaque in our mouth can act on the sugar in food to produce acids that cause the loss of our teeth minerals. Fluoride helps in re-mineralization which aids in repairing early decay. Fluoride strengthens children's developing teeth by increasing their resistance to acid attack, and therefore reducing the chances of getting tooth decay. The drinking water in Hong Kong has already been added with fluoride. It helps to prevent tooth decay if parents use drinking water to cook and reconstitute the milk. Is it harmful to swallow toothpaste? One of the aims of using fluoride toothpaste is to allow the teeth to absorb the fluoride in the toothpaste and strengthen the teeth to prevent tooth decay. Therefore, it will not cause any harm for a child to swallow the toothpaste accidentally. However, absorbing too much fluoride may lead to dental fluorosis, in which white spots will appear on your child's permanent teeth and affect his appearance. So, make sure your child gets used to spitting out before using children's fluoride toothpaste which contains less fluoride. Use only a small amount of toothpaste every time, a pea-sized blob will be enough. Remember to teach your child to spit the toothpaste out after brushing his teeth.