It's not easy for dentists to get toddlers and young childred to sit still for a filling. NY1's Erin Billups takes a look at a new treatment that helps take away the pain of treating cavities in kids and filed the following report.

A quarter of children ages two to six have tooth decay and dentists say the problem isn't going away. 

"They're drinking a lot more sugary beverages, snacking like crazy. So they're just getting cavities a lot faster than they were 20, 30 years ago," explains Dr. Lisa Van Eyndhoven, a pediatric dentist.

To meet the growing demand, Van Eyndhoven and her colleagues at St. Barnabas hospital have begun using silver diamine fluoride, or SDF, to quickly treat their young patients.

The silver kills the bacteria in the cavity, stopping the spread of infection and tooth decay - replacing in some cases having to clean out the decay with a drill.

The fluoride hardens the tooth and takes away sensitivity.

"With kids there's a lot of sights and sounds and numbing and new experiences so this is a really easy way to arrest the disease process," says Van Eyndhoven.

The FDA approved SDF two years ago to treat dental hypersensitivity in adults, but it has been used to treat cavities in all ages in Asia for decades.

"It's another tool in our toolbox to really reduce the procedures that children need to go through," adds Van Eyndhoven.

Van Eyndhoven used SDF on Katiatou Toure after she complained of pain and bleeding gums to her parents.

A downside is that the product turns the decayed areas of the tooth black.

"Not super aesthetically pleasing which is why you still want to do a filling. But sometimes, especially if it's a back tooth or if it's a tooth that's going to fall out in the not too distant future. It's kind of a good midway point instead of doing filling after filling," says Van Eyndhoven.

Toure eventually got fillings for her front teeth that were treated with SDF which made all the difference at school.

"My friends, where I go to school. They don't laugh at me," says Toure.

She's also practicing better dental hygiene, brushing twice a day and trying to lay off the sugary drinks.

 

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