Dental Problems in School Children: An Overview

Oral health is an important aspect of a child's overall health. Untreated oral and dental disorder can lead to severe consequences. Dental caries, pulpal and periapical lesions, trauma, Malocclusion and oral habits are most common dental problems seen in school children. Dental caries is one of the most frequent cause to seek dental care for a child. Untreated dental caries can result in pain, infection, tooth loss, difficulty in eating or speaking and poor appearance. Infection of the pulp due to dental caries result in pulp and periapical lesions. Dental trauma is extremely common in school children as they are susceptible to falling or accidentally hitting hard objects. Most common type of injury include crown fracture, luxation and avulsion. Another major problem that young children frequently engage in are oral habits. These include digit sucking, Tongue thrusting, lip biting or sucking and mouth breathing. These habits can result in various other dental problems such as gingivitis and Malocclusion. Malocclusion refers to abnormal occlusal and craniofacial relationship. In this article we will focus on these dental problems, their impact and their management and prevention.