Black spots on a young child's teeth are concerning and even slightly alarming for a parent. Your child may understand the importance of caring for their teeth, and depending on their age, you might still be supervising their efforts. So why does it look like your child has rapidly developed a number of cavities on teeth that you assumed to be healthy? It may not in fact be cavities, but a specific form of staining that can affect a child's teeth.

Color Changing Bacteria

Chromogenic bacteria is given its name due to its composition—namely, that it's a chromogen, or a compound that (after a chemical reaction) can change color. The bacteria are usually found in the upper respiratory tract but can migrate to the oral cavity, where and colonize the teeth. These dark bacteria colonies look like cavities. Some adults may be affected, but it's typically children whose teeth can be stained due to chromogenic bacteria.

Superficial Stains on Dental Enamel

This staining is a common issue faced in pediatric dentistry. Clearly, these abrupt changes to your child's teeth must be investigated by a dentist. It's important to determine that the discoloration is in fact superficial stains on your child's dental enamel and not cavities that have begun to erode the tooth. Given the speed with which they formed, it's unlikely that the black spots are actually cavities.

Professional Dental Cleaning

Once the staining has been identified as chromogenic bacteria colonies, your child's pediatric dentist can begin to remove them. This isn't complicated in the slightest, and just involves a professional dental cleaning—similar to what your child (or you, for that matter) undergoes at a regular dental checkup. The teeth are scaled and polished, and this removes extrinsic (surface) stains, including any chromogenic bacteria colonies. 

In the Future

There's no guarantee that the issue won't return in the future, but removing this type of discoloration couldn't be any easier. Any child repeatedly affected by chromogenic bacteria will find that the problem becomes progressively less severe as they reach adulthood, at which point it becomes far less likely to occur at all. 

Yes, dark spots on a child's tooth may be cavities, and therefore should always be checked out by your child's dentist. But cavities don't form overnight, so the relatively rapid formation of dark spots on the teeth is more likely to be caused by chromogenic bacteria, and are easily removed.