The ability of SDF to arrest caries

The ability of SDF to arrest caries in anterior primary
teeth of young children
In pre-school children, many deciduous teeth are
attacked by caries, and a very large number of the
children have the so-called “early childhood caries”
which takes an acute course. However, the treatment of
such carious deciduous teeth involves many difficulties,
so a majority of the patients are left untreated at present.
Deciduous teeth not only play an important role in the
normal eruption and growth of the permanent teeth,
but also are essential for the growth of the jaw bone,
viz., the growth and development of the face. From
such a point of view, it may be reasonable to sacrifice
the esthetic factor to a certain extent, if the progress of
dental caries can be arrested by the application of the
solution.[20] Previous approach to rampant caries was
to remove possible carious dentin and use zinc oxide
eugenol as temporary restoration. Unfortunately, the
pattern of caries is so irregular that zinc oxide eugenol
cannot be retained. SDF can provide a better alternative
for the same