How Do I Know if I Still Have Baby Tooths

Dental Health and Your Child'south Teeth

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

Babe Teeth

A child's mouth has xx initial teeth, too called primary teeth, baby teeth, or deciduous teeth:

Iv second molars
Iv first molars
Four cuspids (also called canine teeth or eyeteeth)
Four lateral incisors
Iv cardinal incisors

For each set of 4 teeth, two teeth are in the upper arch (one on each side of the mouth) and two are in the lower arch (one on each side of the oral fissure).

Permanent Teeth

The adult oral cavity has 32 permanent teeth:

Four 3rd molars (also called wisdom teeth)
Four second molars (also called 12-year molars)
Four first molars (besides chosen 6-twelvemonth molars)
Four second bicuspids (also called 2d premolars)
Four first bicuspids (besides chosen first premolars)
Iv cuspids (too called canine teeth or eyeteeth)
Four lateral incisors
Four central incisors

Teeth Functions

Your teeth are used for:

Biting and tearing. The primal incisors and lateral incisors are mostly used for biting and cutting, and canine teeth are primarily used for tearing food.

Grinding and crushing. The premolars, molars, and wisdom teeth are mostly used for chewing and grinding food.

How Teeth Are Structured

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

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

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

Every bit seen from the nautical chart, the starting time teeth brainstorm to break through the gums at about 6 months of age. Usually, the first two teeth to erupt are the two bottom central incisors (the two bottom front teeth). Next, the superlative 4 forepart teeth emerge. Afterward that, other teeth slowly begin to fill in, usually in pairs -- one 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 ii ½ to 3 years old. The consummate set of primary teeth is in the rima oris from the age of ii ½ to 3 years of historic period to 6 to 7 years of historic period.

Primary Teeth Evolution Nautical chart
Upper Teeth	When tooth emerges	When tooth falls out
Central incisor	8 to 12 months	vi to 7 years
Lateral incisor	9 to thirteen months	seven to 8 years
Canine (cuspid)	16 to 22 months	10 to 12 years
First molar	13 to 19 months	9 to 11 years
Second molar	25 to 33 months	10 to 12 years

Lower Teeth
Second molar	23 to 31 months	ten to 12 years
First molar	xiv to eighteen months	nine to 11 years
Canine (cuspid)	17 to 23 months	9 to 12 years
Lateral incisor	10 to 16 months	7 to 8 years
Central incisor	half dozen to 10 months	vi to seven years

An overview of children's teeth

Other primary tooth eruption facts:

A general rule of thumb is that for every vi months of life, approximately 4 teeth will erupt.
Girls more often than not precede boys in tooth eruption.
Lower teeth usually erupt before upper teeth.
Teeth in both jaws usually erupt in pairs -- i 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.
Past the time a child is ii to three years of age, all master teeth should have erupted.

Shortly after age 4, the jaw and facial bones of the child brainstorm to grow, creating spaces between the main 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 chief teeth and permanent teeth reside in the mouth.

Why Is It Important to Care for Baby Teeth?

While it'due south true that baby teeth are but in the mouth a short menstruum of time, they play a vital role. Infant teeth:

Reserve space for their permanent counterparts
Give the face its normal appearance.
Aid in the development of articulate speech.
Help reach good nutrition (missing or decayed teeth make information technology difficult to chew, causing children to reject foods)
Help requite a healthy start to the permanent teeth (disuse and infection in baby teeth tin cause damage to the permanent teeth developing beneath them)

To understand the problems that decaying baby teeth can cause in permanent teeth, see Oral Health Issues in Children.

Children should usually exist seen by a dentist past the historic period of 1 or within 6 months after their first tooth comes in.

What Happens at the Get-go Dental Visit?

The outset dental visit is usually curt and involves very little treatment. This visit gives your child a chance to run across the dentist in a nonthreatening and friendly way. Some dentists may ask the parent to sit down in the dental chair and hold their child during the exam. Or you lot might look in the reception surface area during part of the visit then that your dentist tin can build a relationship with your child.

During the exam, your dentist will bank check all of your child's teeth for decay, examine their bite, and look for any potential bug with the gums, jaw, and oral tissues. If necessary, the dentist or hygienist will clean teeth and assess the need for fluoride. They volition also brainwash parents near oral wellness care basics for children, discuss dental developmental issues, and answer any questions.

Topics your dentist may discuss with you might include:

Good oral hygiene practices for your child's teeth and gums and cavity prevention
Fluoride needs
Oral habits (thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, lip sucking)
Developmental milestones
Teething
Proper nutrition
Schedule of dental checkups. Many dentists similar to run across children every six months to build up the child's comfort and confidence level in visiting the dentist, to monitor the evolution of the teeth, and promptly care for any developing problems.

You will be asked to complete medical and health information forms apropos the kid during the get-go visit. Come up prepared with the necessary information.

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

A pediatric dentist has at least 2 more than years of grooming across dental school. The training focuses on management and treatment of a kid'south developing teeth, kid beliefs, physical growth and development, and the special needs of children's dentistry. Although either type of dentist can handle your child's oral health intendance needs, a pediatric dentist, their staff, and even the part décor are all geared to care for children and to put them at ease. If your kid has special needs, think about getting intendance from a pediatric dentist. Ask your dentist or your child's doctor what they recommend.

When Should Children Get Their First Dental X-Ray?

There are no rules for when to start dental X-rays. Some children who may be at higher risk for dental problems (for case, those prone to baby canteen tooth decay or those with cleft lip/palate) should have X-rays taken earlier than others. Usually, nearly children will have had X-rays taken by the historic period of 5 or half dozen. As children begin to get their adult teeth around the age of 6, 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 seize with teeth problems, and to find out if teeth are clean and healthy.

Diet and Your Child's Teeth

What your child eats affects their teeth. Besides many carbohydrates, sugar (for example, from cake, cookies, candies, milk, and other sugary foods and beverages), and starches (such as pretzels and tater fries) can cause tooth disuse. How long carbohydrates remain on the teeth is the main culprit behind tooth disuse.

The best thing yous can do as a parent is to teach your child to make good for you food 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 h2o, such as pears, melons, celery, and cucumbers, are best. Limit assistant and raisin consumption, every bit these have full-bodied sugar, or if you lot serve these fruits, endeavour to brush your child'south teeth right away after they are eaten.
Choose cheese. Serve cheese with tiffin or every bit a snack, especially cheddar, Monterey Jack, Swiss, and other aged cheeses, which help to trigger the menstruum of saliva. Saliva helps wash nutrient particles abroad from teeth.
Avert sticky, chewy foods. Raisins, stale 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 abroad. If your child consumes these types of products, take them brush their teeth right subsequently eating.
Serve sugary treats with meals, not every bit snacks. If yous plan to give your child any sweets, give them every bit desserts merely after the repast. There'due south normally more saliva in the mouth around mealtime, making it easier to launder nutrient abroad from teeth. The mealtime beverage also helps launder away food particles on teeth.
Get your children in the addiction of eating as few snacks as possible. How frequently 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 leaner would otherwise feast on. Frequent snacking, without brushing right after, provides constant fuel to feed leaner, which leads to plaque buildup and molar decay. Effort to limit snacks as much as possible and to one or two a day.
Avoid sugary foods that linger on the teeth. Lollipops, difficult candies, cough drops, and mints all contribute to tooth decay considering they continuously coat the teeth with sugar.
Buy foods that are sugar-complimentary or unsweetened.
Never put your baby to bed with a bottle of milk, formula, juice, or soda.
Offer your child manifestly water instead of juice or soda. Juices, sodas, and fifty-fifty milk contain sugar. Water does non impairment the teeth and aids in washing away whatsoever nutrient particles that may be clinging to teeth.
Include practiced sources of calcium in your child's diet to build strong teeth. Expert sources include milk, broccoli, and yogurt.

Other Tips for Your Child's Teeth

If your child chews gum, opt for xylitol-sweetened or sugar-free glue. Xylitol tin reduce the amount of bacteria in the oral cavity, and the chewing action helps boost the flow of saliva.
Brush with fluoride toothpastes. The best way to prevent tooth disuse is to apply a toothpaste with fluoride every day. Electric current recommendations are to apply fluoride toothpaste for all ages, simply use a very modest amount for younger children. The fluoride seeps inside the molar to reverse early decay. Brush your child's teeth at least twice a day and after each meal or snack if possible. If brushing between meals is not possible, at least rinse the mouth with water several times.
Floss your kid's teeth daily. Do it at least once a mean solar day to aid remove particles betwixt teeth and below the gum line.
Rinse with fluoride mouthwash. A fluoride mouthwash tin help prevent tooth decay. Utilize only after 6 years one-time.
Castor your child's teeth after giving their medicine. Medicines such as cough syrups have sugar that bacteria in the rima oris use to make acids. These acids tin can consume away at the enamel.

Easing Your Child's Fearfulness of the Dentist

Parents and dentists each play an important role in making a child'south first dental appointment a positive experience. Any anxiety that parents evidence will exist picked up past the child. And an unfriendly dentist can cause unnecessary fear in the kid.

Parents' Role in the Dental Visit

To help the dental visit go more smoothly:

Tell your child about the visits, but limit the details. Respond any questions with uncomplicated, to-the-signal answers. Permit the dentist answer more complex or detailed questions. Dentists are trained to draw things to children in a nonthreatening way and in piece of cake-to-understand language.
Avoid the use of words like "injure," "shot," or "painful."
Don't tell your child nearly an unpleasant dental experience that you've had.
Stress to your kid how important it is to maintain healthy teeth and gums and that the dentist is a friendly doctor whose chore it is to aid do this.
Don't promise a reward for going to the dentist.

Proceed in mind that it is perfectly normal for children to be fearful. Some are afraid of beingness 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'southward Role

Children may express fear in a number of ways. Some may weep; others may throw atmosphere tantrums. Dentists ofttimes volition use techniques to ease children'due south fears, including:

The dentist should talk in a friendly voice that could go firmer if necessary.
Elementary words should be used to describe the procedure. Sometimes, dentists will demonstrate the process on a doll or another person before doing information technology on the child.
Many times, dentists will tell stories or appoint the kid in conversation as a means of drawing attending away from the procedure.
Dentists often volition use body language, such as a elementary grinning or frown, to reinforce positive behavior and discourage negative beliefs. Praise and compliments should be given to reinforce skillful behavior.
The dentist may use sedation to aid the child relax and be more comfy, if necessary. The two most mutual types of sedation that might exist used in children are nitrous oxide ("laughing gas") or an oral allaying (such as Valium).

If your dentist does non take steps to ease your kid'south fears, consider finding another dentist. Information technology is important that your child has a positive experience at the dentist during their early years so that they do non develop an ongoing fearfulness of oral health care providers.

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