The Rain Is Falling My Baby Is All Alone

Dental Wellness and Your Child'south Teeth

Medically Reviewed by Evan Frisbee, DMD on Oct 31, 2021

Baby Teeth

A child's mouth has 20 initial teeth, also called master teeth, baby teeth, or deciduous teeth:

Four second molars
Four starting time molars
Four cuspids (also called canine teeth or eyeteeth)
4 lateral incisors
Four cardinal incisors

For each set of four teeth, two teeth are in the upper curvation (ane on each side of the mouth) and two are in the lower arch (1 on each side of the mouth).

Permanent Teeth

The adult oral fissure has 32 permanent teeth:

Four 3rd molars (likewise chosen wisdom teeth)
Iv second molars (also called 12-year molars)
Iv kickoff molars (besides called half-dozen-twelvemonth molars)
4 second bicuspids (besides called second premolars)
Four first bicuspids (also called first premolars)
Four cuspids (also called canine teeth or eyeteeth)
4 lateral incisors
Four central incisors

Teeth Functions

Your teeth are used for:

Biting and tearing. The central incisors and lateral incisors are generally used for biting and cutting, and canine teeth are primarily used for fierce nutrient.

Grinding and crushing. The premolars, molars, and wisdom teeth are more often than not used for chewing and grinding nutrient.

How Teeth Are Structured

Each tooth has three main parts: crown, neck, and root.

The crown is the visible office of the tooth. A protective layer called enamel covers the crown.
The neck is the area of the tooth between the crown and the root.
The root is the portion of the tooth that extends through the gum and into the bone of the jaw.

The following chart shows when your kid's primary teeth (also called baby teeth or deciduous teeth) should erupt and shed. Eruption times vary from kid to child.

Every bit seen from the chart, the outset teeth begin to break through the gums at about half dozen months of age. Usually, the first ii teeth to erupt are the two bottom primal incisors (the two bottom forepart teeth). Side by side, the pinnacle iv front end teeth emerge. Later that, other teeth slowly begin to fill in, commonly in pairs -- i each side of the upper or lower jaw -- until all 20 teeth (10 in the upper jaw and 10 in the lower jaw) have come in by the time the child is 2 ½ to 3 years old. The complete set of chief teeth is in the oral fissure from the age of 2 ½ to 3 years of age to six to 7 years of age.

Primary Teeth Evolution Chart
Upper Teeth	When tooth emerges	When tooth falls out
Central incisor	8 to 12 months	6 to 7 years
Lateral incisor	nine to 13 months	7 to eight years
Canine (cuspid)	16 to 22 months	x to 12 years
Offset tooth	13 to 19 months	ix to xi years
Second tooth	25 to 33 months	10 to 12 years

Lower Teeth
2d molar	23 to 31 months	x to 12 years
First molar	xiv to 18 months	ix to xi years
Canine (cuspid)	17 to 23 months	nine to 12 years
Lateral incisor	10 to 16 months	7 to 8 years
Cardinal incisor	6 to 10 months	six to vii years

An overview of children's teeth

Other chief tooth eruption facts:

A general dominion of thumb is that for every 6 months of life, approximately 4 teeth will erupt.
Girls mostly precede boys in molar eruption.
Lower teeth usually erupt earlier upper teeth.
Teeth in both jaws usually erupt in pairs -- one on the right and one on the left.
Master teeth are smaller in size and whiter in color than the permanent teeth that volition follow.
By the time a kid is 2 to iii years of age, all main teeth should accept erupted.

Shortly after age four, the jaw and facial bones of the child begin to grow, creating spaces betwixt the main teeth. This is a perfectly natural growth procedure that provides the necessary space for the larger permanent teeth to emerge. Between the ages of 6 and 12, a mixture of both primary teeth and permanent teeth reside in the oral fissure.

Why Is Information technology Important to Care for Baby Teeth?

While it'due south true that baby teeth are only in the oral cavity a brusque period of time, they play a vital role. Babe teeth:

Reserve space for their permanent counterparts
Give the face up its normal appearance.
Assist in the evolution of clear speech.
Aid attain good nutrition (missing or decayed teeth brand it hard to chew, causing children to decline foods)
Assistance requite a good for you beginning to the permanent teeth (decay and infection in baby teeth can cause damage to the permanent teeth developing below them)

To understand the problems that decomposable baby teeth can cause in permanent teeth, meet Oral Health Bug in Children.

Children should commonly be seen by a dentist past the age of 1 or within 6 months later on their first tooth comes in.

What Happens at the Get-go Dental Visit?

The get-go dental visit is usually short and involves very picayune treatment. This visit gives your child a chance to meet the dentist in a nonthreatening and friendly fashion. Some dentists may ask the parent to sit in the dental chair and concord their child during the test. Or you lot might wait in the reception area during part of the visit so that your dentist can build a relationship with your child.

During the exam, your dentist volition check all of your child's teeth for decay, examine their bite, and expect for any potential problems with the gums, jaw, and oral tissues. If necessary, the dentist or hygienist will make clean teeth and assess the need for fluoride. They volition also educate parents nigh oral health care basics for children, talk over dental developmental issues, and answer any questions.

Topics your dentist may discuss with you might include:

Good oral hygiene practices for your child'southward teeth and gums and cavity prevention
Fluoride needs
Oral habits (thumb sucking, natural language thrusting, lip sucking)
Developmental milestones
Teething
Proper diet
Schedule of dental checkups. Many dentists similar to run into children every six months to build upwardly the kid'southward comfort and conviction level in visiting the dentist, to monitor the development of the teeth, and promptly care for whatsoever developing problems.

You will be asked to consummate medical and health information forms concerning the child during the first visit. Come up prepared with the necessary information.

What's the Difference Between a Pediatric Dentist and a Regular Dentist?

A pediatric dentist has at to the lowest degree two more than years of training across dental school. The training focuses on management and treatment of a child'southward developing teeth, child behavior, physical growth and development, and the special needs of children's dentistry. Although either type of dentist tin handle your kid's oral health care needs, a pediatric dentist, their staff, and fifty-fifty the office décor are all geared to care for children and to put them at ease. If your kid has special needs, call back almost getting care from a pediatric dentist. Ask your dentist or your child's doc what they recommend.

When Should Children Go Their First Dental 10-Ray?

There are no rules for when to first dental 10-rays. Some children who may exist at higher take a chance for dental problems (for example, those decumbent to baby bottle tooth decay or those with crack lip/palate) should have X-rays taken earlier than others. Usually, virtually children will have had X-rays taken by the age of 5 or six. As children begin to go their adult teeth around the age of vi, Ten-rays play an important role in helping your dentist to see if all of the adult teeth are growing in the jaw, to look for bite problems, and to find out if teeth are clean and healthy.

Diet and Your Child'southward Teeth

What your child eats affects their teeth. Too many carbohydrates, sugar (for case, from block, cookies, candies, milk, and other sugary foods and beverages), and starches (such as pretzels and murphy chips) tin can cause tooth decay. How long carbohydrates remain on the teeth is the principal culprit behind tooth disuse.

The all-time thing yous can do as a parent is to teach your child to make good for you nutrient choices. Here are some tips:

Try fruits and vegetables. Offer fruits and vegetables as a snack instead of carbohydrates. Fruits and vegetables with a high volume of water, such as pears, melons, celery, and cucumbers, are all-time. Limit assistant and raisin consumption, as these have concentrated sugar, or if you serve these fruits, effort to brush your kid'due south teeth right abroad after they are eaten.
Choose cheese. Serve cheese with luncheon or as a snack, especially cheddar, Monterey Jack, Swiss, and other anile cheeses, which help to trigger the flow of saliva. Saliva helps wash food particles away from teeth.
Avert sticky, chewy foods. Raisins, dried figs, granola bars, oatmeal or peanut butter cookies, jelly beans, caramel, honey, molasses, and syrup stick to teeth, making it hard for saliva to wash the sugar away. If your kid consumes these types of products, have them brush their teeth right after eating.
Serve sugary treats with meals, non as snacks. If y'all program to give your child any sweets, give them as desserts just after the meal. There's usually more saliva in the mouth effectually mealtime, making it easier to wash food away from teeth. The mealtime beverage also helps launder away food particles on teeth.
Get your children in the habit of eating as few snacks as possible. How often your kid snacks is far more than important than the how much they eat. Time between meals allows saliva to wash away food particles that bacteria would otherwise feast on. Frequent snacking, without brushing right later, provides constant fuel to feed bacteria, which leads to plaque buildup and tooth disuse. Try to limit snacks every bit much as possible and to i or two a 24-hour interval.
Avoid sugary foods that linger on the teeth. Lollipops, difficult candies, cough drops, and mints all contribute to tooth decay because they continuously coat the teeth with carbohydrate.
Buy foods that are sugar-complimentary or unsweetened.
Never put your infant to bed with a bottle of milk, formula, juice, or soda.
Offering your child plain water instead of juice or soda. Juices, sodas, and even milk incorporate carbohydrate. Water does non harm the teeth and aids in washing away whatsoever food particles that may be clinging to teeth.
Include good sources of calcium in your child'due south diet to build strong teeth. Skillful sources include milk, broccoli, and yogurt.

Other Tips for Your Child's Teeth

If your child chews mucilage, opt for xylitol-sweetened or sugar-free gum. Xylitol can reduce the amount of bacteria in the mouth, and the chewing action helps heave the flow of saliva.
Brush with fluoride toothpastes. The all-time way to prevent tooth decay is to use a toothpaste with fluoride every day. Current recommendations are to use fluoride toothpaste for all ages, but utilize a very small-scale amount for younger children. The fluoride seeps within the tooth to reverse early disuse. Brush your kid'southward teeth at least twice a day and after each repast or snack if possible. If brushing between meals is not possible, at least rinse the mouth with h2o several times.
Floss your child's teeth daily. Do it at to the lowest degree once a twenty-four hour period to help remove particles between teeth and below the gum line.
Rinse with fluoride mouthwash. A fluoride mouthwash can help prevent tooth decay. Use but after six years old.
Brush your child's teeth subsequently giving their medicine. Medicines such equally cough syrups accept sugar that leaner in the mouth use to make acids. These acids can eat abroad at the enamel.

Easing Your Child's Fearfulness of the Dentist

Parents and dentists each play an important role in making a child'due south first dental engagement a positive experience. Whatever anxiety that parents show will exist picked up by the child. And an unfriendly dentist can crusade unnecessary fearfulness in the child.

Parents' Role in the Dental Visit

To help the dental visit go more than smoothly:

Tell your child near the visits, but limit the details. Answer whatsoever questions with simple, to-the-bespeak answers. Permit the dentist answer more complex or detailed questions. Dentists are trained to draw things to children in a nonthreatening way and in easy-to-understand language.
Avoid the employ of words similar "injure," "shot," or "painful."
Don't tell your child near an unpleasant dental feel that you've had.
Stress to your child how important information technology is to maintain good for you teeth and gums and that the dentist is a friendly medico whose chore information technology is to help practise this.
Don't promise a reward for going to the dentist.

Go on in mind that it is perfectly normal for children to be fearful. Some are agape of being separated from their parents; others are afraid of the unknown; others are afraid of being injured. A dentist who treats children will know how to cope with your child's fears and anxiety and put them at ease.

Dentist's Role

Children may express fear in a number of ways. Some may cry; others may throw temper tantrums. Dentists often will use techniques to ease children'southward fears, including:

The dentist should talk in a friendly voice that could become firmer if necessary.
Simple words should exist used to describe the procedure. Sometimes, dentists will demonstrate the procedure on a doll or another person before doing it on the child.
Many times, dentists will tell stories or engage the child in conversation equally a ways of drawing attention away from the procedure.
Dentists often will use body linguistic communication, such as a elementary smile or frown, to reinforce positive behavior and discourage negative behavior. Praise and compliments should exist given to reinforce good behavior.
The dentist may apply sedation to help the child relax and be more than comfortable, if necessary. The 2 nearly common types of sedation that might exist used in children are nitrous oxide ("laughing gas") or an oral sedative (such as Valium).

If your dentist does not have steps to ease your child's fears, consider finding another dentist. Information technology is important that your child has a positive experience at the dentist during their early on years so that they do not develop an ongoing fear of oral health care providers.

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Source: https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/dental-health-your-childs-teeth