Peer Reviewed
Clinical case review
Rotting teeth in a young girl
Abstract
Preschool children are at risk of dental caries from extended use of bottles and should have access to dental care to prevent their teeth from decaying.
Key Points
Case scenario
Tracey, aged 5 years old, was brought in to my clinic from an outlying rural community to receive her immunisations before starting school. An opportunistic health check revealed that three of her top front teeth had rotted away to below the gum line. She also had several carious teeth towards the back of her mouth. Her mother denied that Tracey excessively consumed sweets or sweet drinks, confirmed that Tracey brushed her teeth and rather defensively asserted that Tracey had been born with ‘soft teeth’.
How should the current situation be handled? Will the secondary dentition suffer?
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