Is it safe to extract toddler teeth?

Dear Dentist, my six-year-old child has two teeth with holes, are there special filling materials for children that can be used to stop further damage, or can they be removed since he is still young?
Akankunda, Kasese

Dear Akankunda, at six years, if a child is healthy, we expect him or her to have started developing some permanent teeth, and this is referred to as mixed dentition.

Mixed dentition is where a child has both milk or primary teeth and some permanent teeth at the same time. It is, therefore, hard to know whether the affected teeth are permanent or not.

However, when any tooth (milk or permanent) develops a cavity or a hole as a result of dental caries, it can easily be worked on using the same procedures and materials.

At times, primary teeth can be filled with temporary cement, depending on what the dentist finds out during a dental examination.

It is important to note that the type of filling material depends on how deep a cavity is, because some materials are not good for deep cavities as they can easily irritate the inner part of the tooth, which may cause pain in the affected tooth.

Why filling primary teeth is important
It is not good to always have your child’s tooth removed just because it has a cavity (hole), filling it with appropriate dental cement will prevent further damage of the tooth, reduce any sensitivity or pain that may arise and prevent bad breath that may be arising due to food debris that gets stuck in the tooth cavity.

Dangers of removing primary teeth at early age
We all know that primary teeth are replaced with permanent teeth but this should only come at the right time.

This explains why many times we emphasise that parents take good care of their children’s teeth immediately after all primary teeth have erupted. This usually happens between 24 to 30 months.

The dangers include;
Failure of a child to grind food properly
Misalignment of teeth
Failure to pronounce words clearly, and
Inferiority complex among peers, among others.
Finally, I encourage you to take your child to any registered dental health service provider for a thorough dental check up to ascertain the appropriate treatment.

The writer is a dentist
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