Importance of Baby Teeth to Your Child’s Development

The baby teeth, also called primary teeth, is as vital as the permanent teeth. It helps your little one chew their food, speak well and give the face its shape. This is the reason why it is important to take good care of them.

How Baby Teeth Develop

When a baby is born, his 20 baby teeth are already there inside the jaws and usually emerge when the baby ages 6 months to one year. Most kids will have a complete set of 20 teeth by the time they reach 3.

However, every child is different – one specific tooth may appear first than the usual. When teeth erupt, some babies may experience tender or painful gums. Rubbing the child’s gums gently with a cool wet gauze pad or cloth may soothe the sore gums. Teethers can also be used. However, if the child is in pain and irritable, visit your dentist or doctor.

 Baby Teeth Hold Space for Adult Teeth

When a baby tooth lost too early before the adult tooth inside is ready to emerge, adjacent teeth can occupy the open space. When the adult tooth is ready to surface, there may not be enough space for them. This causes the teeth to be too crowded in a certain part or crooked.

This is the reason why beginning infancy, it is best to practice proper oral hygiene to protect their baby teeth from losing too early.

 If a child loses teeth too early, your dentist may suggest a space maintainer – a metal or plastic piece that helps make the space or gap open to ensure that emerging adult teeth is in the right place.

Prevent Decay in Baby Teeth

Tooth decay on your child’s baby teeth has a significant impact on the growth of their adult teeth. It can also be uncomfortable for them. Your child may find it challenging to eat certain foods and speak normally if they have tooth discomfort.

Thus, it is important to maintain proper dental care of baby teeth even if they will fall out later.

Tooth decay usually occur when the baby teeth are exposed to sugary liquids for long periods. These liquids include sweetened water, milk or formula, soda and fruit juice. It can also develop when you place your baby on bed with a bottle of milk still inside their mouth. When your baby is ready to eat solids, you may give water at this point.

Be sure to visit your dentist before your child’s first birthday. See it as a ‘well-baby check-up’ for their teeth.

How to Deal with Over-Retained Baby Teeth?

The primary teeth, also called the baby teeth, must shed naturally so the permanent teeth beneath can erupt into the gums. Once the permanent tooth’s eruption is delayed for over a year from the supposed date, it is considered as over-retained. It is necessary to keep track of every primary tooth loss.

The first thing you should do is to wait for the baby teeth to eventually lose. If gum infection and pain become an issue so chewing and brushing or flossing as an ordeal, then removing the tooth could be necessary.

In some cases, baby teeth become loose and tighten again since the erupting permanent teeth starts to deflect from the supposed position in the dental arch. If the primary tooth become tight again and the permanent tooth is deflected, it may be best to remove the primary tooth. Some kids suffering from this have this problem repeatedly with their other teeth while other only have one or two teeth affected.

The most common cases of over-retained baby teeth are the primary maxillary second molar and the maxillary primary canine. Further, the most frequently missing adult teeth are the maxillary lateral incisors and the mandibular second premolar. Because of the absence of second premolars, the primary second molars usually will be over-retained. They usually remain to adulthood before requiring removal.

The cause of missing teeth isn’t completely known. It could be a genetic component but factors such as trauma, endocrine disorders and environmental elements can be considered.

Cause of Over-Retained Teeth

It is important to have the child’s teeth carefully assessed by a pediatric dentist. The color, shape, condition and position of the baby teeth is important to evaluate. There’s a chance that the baby tooth may be fused to the bone, a condition called ankylosis. This hinders shedding of baby tooth.

There are several reasons for the baby teeth to be over-retained. The most common reasons is when the permanent tooth are absent, which normally push the root of the baby tooth. Other reasons for over-retained baby teeth are obstructions, pathology, trauma, infection, misalignment of permanent tooth and late eruption of permanent tooth.

Treatment Options for Over-Retained Baby Teeth

Treatment options for over-retained primary teeth will depend on the condition of the baby tooth and its adjacent structures. If there are several over-retained teeth, there may be a number of missing permanent teeth. It is important that an orthodontist must see the child so a proper treatment plan can be developed.

If the baby tooth is aesthetically and structurally acceptable, the tooth can be retained. But if the tooth isn’t structurally and aesthetically acceptable, it can be retained and reshaped through restoration means.

When the baby tooth is crooked, it is better to remove it as the space between can be closed through braces. It can also be replaced by a dental implant or fixed bridge.

It is clearly important to always have your child’s baby teeth checked by a dental professional so that dental issues such as over-retained baby teeth can be recognized as soon as possible. An early treatment will definitely improve the result.

What to Do with a Child’s Loose Tooth

If you have a child with a loose baby tooth, you may think if you should try to pull it or simply wait for it to loosen and come out on its own. Pulling a loose tooth from your little one’s mouth is quite tempting, but this isn’t always the best thing to do.

Below are some things you should know before attempting to pull a loose tooth.

Why is It Loose?

A loose tooth does not mean that a permanent tooth is about to erupt. Sometimes, children know their teeth when they accidentally fall or when playing. In case a tooth is knocked loose, it is best to schedule an appointment with your dentist so he can check it to prevent the risk of having an infection or even damage to the permanent tooth.

Children often lose their teeth in about the same order that they emerge. The frontal teeth loosen first, often between the age of six and seven. When the permanent tooth begins to erupt, the baby tooth’s roots dissolve until it loosens and painlessly fall out with very minimal bleeding.

If the loose tooth isn’t ready to fall out naturally, trying to extract it could affect the sensitive roots, causing unnecessary pain. If you are unsure why one specific tooth is loose, and you are not sure why it’s too early, you may talk to your pediatric dentist about this matter.

How to Help Your Child Loosen Baby Teeth

Kids usually start to lose their baby teeth between the age of four and seven. But some baby teeth can still remain until the age of 12. Although they naturally fall out and are replacement by permanent adult teeth, in some cases, baby teeth require a little help in coming out.

Before you start, be sure to wash you and your child’s hands with soap and water. Next, check the loose tooth to see whether the baby tooth is really loose. If you think that it’s loose enough, here is what you can tell your child to do to help him/her remove the baby tooth:

1.       Tell your child to gently wiggle the tooth. Don’t twist or pull, just move the tooth back and forth to make it looser.

2.       Have your child move the tooth around to determine if there’s any pain. If there is, it’s not ready yet to be removed.

3.       Give your child something crunchy to eat, like an apple, to help loosen the tooth.

4.       Have your child brush their teeth several times a day to help loosen it.

It’s strongly advised to let your child pull their own tooth, because they are only the ones who can best tell it the loose tooth is ready to come out. This will help reduce the amount of bloodor pain that could result from a tooth coming out prematurely.

What Causes Delays in My Baby’s Tooth Eruption?

Parents usually see a baby’s first tooth eruption as a major milestone in their baby’s life. You might see the first tiny pearly white bud in the gumline as signal’s the arrival of your baby’s first tooth.

The age of tooth eruption considerably varies from baby to baby. However, if you wait month after month for the tooth to erupt, you may feel worried as you imagine your child toothless for a long time. There are several factors causing delay in tooth emergence. However, this delay is not something to be anxious about – there may be underlying causes for such condition in some babies.

What’s Normal Tooth Eruption?

Infants are born with most of their teeth already developed within their gums. They typically start to emerge by the age of six months. First to appear are the two lower front teeth, followed by the four upper front teeth and then the two lower front teeth. In general, the rest arrive two at a time – one on each side. By the age of three, almost all kids have a complete set of 20 primary teeth.

When is a Delay Considered Abnormal?

The normal range for the appearance of the first tooth is between four and 15 months. Most kids have four teeth by the time they’re 11 months old. At 15 months, the baby will have 8 teeth, 12 teeth at 19 months, 16 teeth at 23 months and 20 teeth at 27 months.  If your baby has no teeth by age of 18 months, he/she should be taken to see a dentist, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests.

Permanent teeth starts to emerge around six years of age. Teeth that don’t follow this normal tooth eruption pattern are not necessarily a concern, but having no teeth at all may signify a more serious concern in some cases.

Causes of Delayed Tooth Eruption

There are several reasons why a child’s tooth emerge beyond the normal schedule. In some cases, late tooth eruption could just be a family trait. Premature birth and low birth weight may also be blamed for the delayed tooth eruption and the teeth may have enamel issues that come with it.

 Rare genetic abnormalities causing poorly formed teeth and delayed tooth appearance such as regional odontodysplasia and amelogenesis imperfecta can be the reason as well. Vitamin D-resistant rickets and nutritional deficiency can also lead to a delay.

Dealing with Delayed Tooth Eruption

For most children who are toothless, a delay is just an opportunity for the parents to enjoy their gummy smile a bit longer. Nevertheless, parents must setup a dental visit for their kids whose teeth erupt later than the normal schedule, particularly if they are worried the delay could mean a more serious problem. But keep in mind that, however late they erupt, caring for your child’s teeth and gums is the best start for a long-lasting oral health.