Tag Archives: baby teeth

Neonatal teeth

WHAT ARE NEONATAL AND NATAL TEETH?

Natal teeth are teeth which are present in the oral cavity at the time of birth where as neonatal teeth erupt during 30 days of life. Primary tooth normally starts erupting at about 6 months of age. Natal teeth might resemble normal primary teeth in terms of size and shape. However, they can be smaller, yellowish and root formation of the teeth may not be completed/total absence during the time of eruption. This lack of root development can cause  mobility of the neonatal tooth. Continue reading →

Extraction of baby teeth

1. Why extract a baby tooth?

Choosing between extraction and filling or conservation is a very common decision that both dentists and patients have to take every day. With adults the decision making is much easier, if the tooth is restorable and the patient can pay for the treatment then we simply conserve the tooth. If the patient is a child then the process of decision making is much harder as many factors affect the selection of the treatment plan that the dentist have to follow. Continue reading →

How to Root Canal a Baby Teeth

The purpose of root canal treatment with baby teeth is to keep the teeth in function until exfoliation, or at least for as long as they are important for occlusal development. Besides eating and speaking, many parents do not know that baby teeth (or primary teeth) also act as a guide for the underlying permanent teeth to erupt and at the same time they maintain the space on the arch so that the permanent teeth has enough room to grow when it is out. Continue reading →

Top 5 Children Habits You Need to Know About (Part 2)

4. Bruxism

Bruxism or Grinding can be very harmful to your kids

It is a habitual grinding of teeth when the child is not chewing or swallowing. It is divided into Daytime Bruxism (Diurnal) or Night -time Bruxism (Nocturnal). Daytime Bruxism can be conscious or subsconscious grinding along with parafunctional habits and it is usually silent. On the other hand, Night-time Bruxism is categorized as subconscious grinding in a rhythmic pattern. Bruxism happens as a result of faulty fillings, improper teeth occlusion, genetic causes, neurological disturbances, occupational factors, over anxious or stressed children.

 

 

What do you notice?

From the tooth surfaces, you will observe your child’s teeth are very much worn off. This feature is called atypical wear facet, whereby the worn area are shiny, uneven with sharp edges on the upper and lower front teeth. Fillings may fracture or tooth may chip off as a result of grinding. Teeth will become mobile and very sensitive to cold and hot food. Besides that, your child may complain of muscular tenderness and fatigue around the cheek on rising in the morning. Jaw movements restricted and difficult in opening mouth for a long time.

    

Shiny, uneven sharp edges of wear facets. Credits to shingletonsmiles.com

 

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Top 5 Children Habits You Need to Know About (Part 1)

Oral habits in children are a major concern for the dentists and parents. A baby’s mouth acts as a primary device for exploring the environment and his or her lips and tongues are stimulated by instinctive sucking. By random movements, babies discover their hands and toes and use these to continue the stimulation of their mouth and related structures. Normal habits grow out of these in the early developmental stages. However, some babies do not. They continued to retain these habits until they are toddlers and it created further dental problems.

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What to do when your child knocks his tooth out?

credits to studiodentaire.com

Before I explain to you regarding the emergency measures that you should perform when your child knocks his tooth out, let me briefly discuss about what will happen to a tooth after it is completely displaced out of socket. Success of a replantation depends on the amount of time the tooth is out of socket and storage medium used to store the avulsed tooth. Avulsion is complete displacement of tooth out of socket. Continue reading →

Two sets of teeth in our lifetime

We have two sets of teeth in our lifetime.

The first set of our teeth is known as deciduous/primary/milk/baby/temporary teeth. There are a total of 20 teeth in the oral cavity/mouth.

Deciduous Teeth

On the upper jaw, there are 2 central incisors, 2 lateral incisors, 2 canines and 4 molars making it a total of 10 teeth. Same goes for the lower jaw making it a grand total of 20 teeth altogether. Continue reading →

Tips for Extraction of Baby Teeth

The permanent tooth is displaced because the milk teeth is not extracted in time

All people at some point in their lives will need to have their baby teeth extracted. The primary reason for extracting these teeth is to make room for permanent teeth. Other reasons for extraction are to prevent the crowding of teeth in the mouth, circumvent tooth decay or prevent injury to the inside of the jaw. No matter which of these scenarios describes your circumstances, there are a number of ways to safely extract baby teeth. Continue reading →

How to Take the Best Care of Your Child’s Teeth

A child’s teeth start to develop before birth. Therefore, it is necessary to start caring for your child’s teeth and gums at an early age. The most important is to bring your child to the dentist when his first tooth erupts into the oral cavity, usually around 6 months of age. The dentist will be able to detect any problems associated with your child’s teeth before they become serious. Establishing a good rapport between the dentist and child is essential to ensure that the child feels safe and able to cooperate during dental treatment. Diet, proper tooth brushing and oral hygiene goes hand-in-hand with your child’s care. Continue reading →

Shark Teeth in Children

Have you ever seen permanent tooth coming in behind baby tooth in children? Is this a normal situation? Many parents become panic when this happens and the child is stressed unnecessarily.  We sometimes called this condition as “Shark teeth”. It is simply when the permanent tooth comes in before the baby (milk) tooth is shed.

What is shark teeth?

It is a common situation during two periods in a child’s development. First, when the child turns 6 years old and the permanent lower incisors erupt behind the baby tooth and then the upper back molars appear when the child is around 11 years old. Some kids develop two rows of teeth or seen in pairs at times. These can appear very unsightly. It earns its name from sharks as they have double row of teeth. Continue reading →