From the moment your child starts erupting teeth, there’s a range of dental problems they can deal with before the first complete set grows in. Habits that form in infancy can affect tooth development, such as thumbsucking, baby bottle tooth decay, lip sucking, tongue thrusting, and tooth loss for various reasons, like injury or lack of jaw space.
Between things like this and growing dental concerns as they age, their first trip to the dentist is all the more critical. However, adjusting to these trips isn’t always easy. Let’s try to ease the stress with a closer look at tooth development in children, the initial trip into our office, and what you can do to make sure your child is ready.
Newberg, Oregon, residents looking to start their kids’ dental journey off right can count on Dr. Kyle Kern and his dedicated team to take care of their pediatric needs.
The first set of deciduous teeth (commonly called baby teeth) begins to form while still in the womb, developing as early as five weeks into gestation. They don’t start pushing out of the gums, a process known as erupting, until between a few months and over a year after being born. While the time they erupt varies, lower incisors often grow in first, followed by the upper ones.
Generally, the remaining cuspids, molars, and canines continue to grow over time, leading to most children having 20 baby teeth by the time they reach three years of age. It takes until early adulthood for the permanent teeth to fully replace the baby teeth, at about age 21.
When we first meet your child, our main priority is to assess their overall dental health, checking to see if their teeth are growing in properly, and identifying any potential problems, such as cavities. To that end, we’ll go over their eating and drinking habits and look for alternatives to sweets that can damage teeth.
We’ll also review the importance of fluoride in their tooth care, and offer helpful information on preventing accidents as they get older. Because dental habits often worsen as children get older, establishing good habits from the start is key to avoiding many expensive dental bills later.
In order to ease the stress of the first trip to see us:
Explain to them as clearly as possible what’s going to happen and why, so they understand it’s good for them, and they keep calm.
They’ll be opening their mouths a lot, so getting them in the habit of doing so, so they’re not surprised, certainly helps.
If you have specific concerns about developing teeth, or if you have questions about things you don’t know about managing your child’s teeth, please feel free to ask.
Avoid taking them to see us when they usually nap, as it will likely confuse them and make things awkward for everyone.
To keep them in a good mood, give them something to eat before visiting, but be sure to brush their teeth before you come in.
Maintain a positive attitude in front of them to keep them in good spirits. If they see you happy, they’re more likely to try to act the same.
Children need to start their dental health journey off right, and handling their first visit properly is a great way to get the ball rolling. If it’s time for that first visit, schedule an appointment with Dr. Kern and his staff today.
