Good dental health is established early in life. Oral care should begin soon after the baby's birth. Because we care for children from the time their first tooth appears until he or she has all their adult teeth, pedodontics focuses heavily on preventative oral care to reduce the risk of future complications.

Primary teeth eruption chart

The following chart shows when primary teeth (also called baby teeth or deciduous teeth) erupt and shed. It’s important to note that eruption times can vary from child to child.

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Other primary tooth eruption facts:

• A general rule of thumb is that for every 6 months of life, approximately 4 teeth will erupt.
• Girls generally precede boys in tooth eruption
• Lower teeth usually erupt before upper teeth
• Teeth in both jaws usually erupt in pairs -- one on the right and one on the left
• Primary teeth are smaller in size and whiter in color than the permanent teeth that will follow
• By the time a child is 2 to 3 years of age, all primary teeth should have erupted

Shortly after age 4, the jaw and facial bones of the child begin to grow, creating spaces between the primary teeth. This is a perfectly natural growth process 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 mouth.

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If baby teeth fall out after a couple of years, why is it important to care for them?

While it’s true that primary teeth are only in the mouth a short period of time, they play a vital role in the following ways:

• They reserve space for their permanent counterparts
• They give the face its normal appearance
• They aid in the development of clear speech
• They help attain good nutrition (missing or decayed teeth make it difficult to chew causing children to reject foods)
• They help give a healthy start to the permanent teeth (decay and infection in baby teeth can cause dark spots on the permanent teeth developing beneath it)

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Why you have to keep Your Child's Teeth Healthy

Good oral hygiene is the proper care of teeth and gums so they can be their healthiest during childhood and afterwards. Pediatricians recommend starting cleaning baby's teeth and gums as soon as the first tooth comes in. When teeth appear in the mouth, decay can occur. If a deciduous tooth is lost too early, the teeth on either side may drift into the empty space thereby eliminating the necessary room for the succeeding permanent tooth to erupt into its proper position. This problem could cause a malocclusion (crooked teeth), and may contribute to decay and periodontal disease.

While children, like adults, need their deciduous (baby) teeth for chewing, appearance, and speaking, they also need a full set of healthy teeth to hold space in their jaws for the permanent teeth. Milk teeth play an important role in the alignment and spacing of permanent teeth.If milk teeth are lost too early, the position of the other teeth may be affected and this can lead to a bad bite and jaw pain in later life.

Habits such as thumb sucking, mouth breathing and tongue thrusting are very often observed in growing children. They are usually due to a variety of reasons, including psychological. These habits can cause mal-alignment of teeth. Attempts must be made to pin-point the cause and treat it to break the habit, certain habit-breaking appliances can be constructed by the dentist to be worn by the child to get rid of the habit.

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Your children's first visit

Here is a piece of advice how to maintain your child’s oral health:

• A balanced diet
• Discourage sugary or starchy snacks.
• Seek early dental care for your young one.
• Encourage good oral health and hygiene habits early.
• Have children brush frequently with fluoride toothpastes.

During first visit:

• Examination and diagnosis, check for tooth decay or other dental problems.
• Scaling and polishing of teeth, fluoride application and sealant for prevention of caries.
• Advise the parents about the child's dental hygiene and problems like thumbsucking, mouth breathing ,tongue thrusting and nursing bottle decay....
• Identify your child's fluoride needs.
• Get the child used with the dental office environment and the dentist.
  

The treatment provided in our clinic Filling of the decayed tooth.

Decay in baby teeth can occur very quickly due to the characteristics of milk teeth tissues. Cavities can reach the nerve space very fast, and no one likes to see youngsters suffer with tooth pains. And that is also dangerous that a permanent tooth source can be infected and this influence it structure and eruption too.

 

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Nursing Bottle Tooth Decay:

One serious form of decay among young children is Nursing Bottle Tooth Decay and most often occurs in the upper front teeth. Babies shouldn't fall asleep with bottles in their mouths the sugar in juices or milk formulas can cause tooth decay, leading to cavities and even tooth loss. Severely decayed front teeth can be saved and restored by placement of laboratory bonded stainless steel crowns.

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What else can parents do to prevent cavities?

• Encourage your child to brush, use fluoride toothpaste and floss every day.
• Take your child to the dentist for regular check-ups.
• Give your child healthy foods and avoid candy and foods with lots of sugar.
• Fluoride application is a single sitting procedure done once every six months. Fluoride makes the tooth structure stronger, so teeth are more resistant to acid attacks. It also helps repair the early stages of tooth decay (before the formation of a cavity).

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Sealants

Sealants are an excellent way to protect normal pits and grooves on chewing surfaces of molars and premolars from decay. They are a safe, painless, require no drilling. and low-cost way, much better financial investment than treating decay after it has started.

How are sealants applied?

Sealants are not permanent., while they may last up to 10 years, 2 to 4 years is a more reasonable estimate. They can wear off or chip off earlier in certain instances, provided the sealant is continuously monitored by a dentist.

Alternatives:
There are no appropriate alternatives to sealants. If a tooth has decay, it will need a filling or other restoration.

Extraction
Extraction of badly broken down teeth, mobile teeth and timely extraction of few deciduous teeth to allow normal eruption of permanent teeth.

Tooth Injuries
Injuries to teeth are very often seen in kids indulging in sporting activities. If it is only a small shift or crack we can fill it with resin composite. In case a tooth is fractured or is knocked out of its socket, the child should be immediately taken to the dentist. A knocked out tooth may be preserved and transported to the dental clinic in a wet medium, or milk. The dentist may be able to put the tooth back into its original place, making it possible for the tooth to last its intended life-span.

Minor orthodontic correction of teeth.

 

 

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Space Maintainer

The Space Maintainer is a special appliance recommended to preserve the space when baby teeth have been removed or lost prematurely. The appliance can also serve as an anchor to prevent adult teeth from drifting into space reserved for unerputed or additional teeth.

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Thumbsucking

Thumb sucking is a common habit among many children. It is common with children under two and is associated with the need to seek food. In some infants it can signal fatigue, sleep, hunger, teething and shyness.

When it becomes a problem ?

The problem gets serious if it continues after the age of six, when the permanent teeth are about to appear. In some cases thumb sucking is substituted by another dangerous habit as placing pencils between the teeth or biting the lips. If the child doesn't stop thumb sucking in time, it is possible some teeth to get misplaced and require orthodontic treatment. Long-term thumb sucking may also affect the growth of the child's palate, which can lead to poor tongue placement and problems with chewing, swallowing and speaking.

How to stop

Usually children stop the habit on their own. Don't put the children in a state of anxiety or fear. Avoid punishing the children. That might have the opposite result.

If they don't, ask the advice of a pediatric dentist for further support. Your dentist may have other suggestions such as a reminder bar that is placed in the upper mouth.

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