At Cipes Pediatric Dentistry, we offer a variety of strategies to prevent arrest and treat cavities. We individualize these strategies by taking into account a comprehensive risk assessment, the extent of disease present, the age and temperament of the patient and parental preference.
One especially useful strategy employs the use of Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) as an antimicrobial and re-mineralization agent to arrest active carious dental lesions. The silver ion has antibacterial effects and the fluoride ion helps re-mineralize the tooth. Because the liquid SDF is simply painted on the carious lesion, the procedure takes little time and is painless. SDF can arrest carious lesion progression at rates upwards of 70%.
SDF provides a safe and effective way to arrest caries and “buy time” for patients to become desensitized and tolerate treatment or reach an age in which general anesthesia has fewer developmental risks. It can benefit children who are fearful of dental procedures, those with medical conditions that make dental treatment more complicated, and those have difficulty “sitting still”.
SDF is not without disadvantages. A side effect to consider is that it will cause discoloration/black staining of demineralized or cavitated surfaces. This is due to the silver ion binding with the decalcified tooth structure and is harmless. This can be an esthetic concern for some families.
If SDF is an option for your child, we will weigh and discuss the risks, benefits and alternatives to this treatment. Our goal is to choose the best caries management strategy for each patient, especially for very young children and those with special health care needs.