“Let’s talk about Teeth, Baby” - PART II

Continuing our Blogpost about Milk teeth- last time we wrote about your childs oral development to help understand the sequence of eruption. Primary teeth serve several purposes-

Maintains space and Tooth alignment- Basically baby teeth ‘reserve’ a space for permanent teeth. If a primary tooth is lost prematurely - the neighbouring and opposing teeth will drift/ move into this open space. By the time your permanent teeth are ready to come in-there won’t be any space for them resulting in may-alignment and other complications.

Facial and Speech Development- Milk teeth are responsible for the development of anatomical structures and facial features. Only when the oral anatomy is developed correctly, speech and pronunciation will be correct. Since small children and just learning how to talk- having all their teeth will prevent speech impairment.

Digestion- This one is obvious. Only when kids have their full complement of teeth they can bite and chew their food. Missing even one tooth can significantly impact your child’s eating since the food is not broken down properly before swallowing. Choking hazards are also a concern as well as TMJ / joint issues and tooth wear if they bite more on one side than the other.

Practising goof oral hygiene is the only way to ensure that your child’s primary teeth are healthy and stay in place as Lon as they are needed. You should get your child started on a consistent oral hygiene practice of brushing and when they are a little older- flossing. In addition to teaching your child a good home care regimen- you should regularly visit your dentist. Periodic checkup will ensure that everything is healthy and a regular clean up will help keep those hard to reach areas also healthy. We can diagnose initial stages of decay and decide whether we need to intervene- doing so at an early stage will help prevent more invasive treatment in the future.

So when is a good time to get your child to the dentist? As soon as they get their baby teeth in! Doing so at an early age will help us build a good rapport with your child and form a good first impression. Parents please do not scare your kids about the dentist before you get them into a dental clinic- it makes our job ten times harder and it is unpleasant for everyone involved- including you. A good relationship with your dentist will ensure that your child has no dental phobia and most importantly will ensure a lifelong commitment to a healthy mouth.