Pediatric Dentist

The role of a pediatric dentist is very significant in your child's growth. The very first teeth to emerge in your baby's mouth are the two on the front side on the bottom section. Usually these teeth will start emerging when the baby is roughly 6 to 8 months old. The next bunch will be the four teeth on the front side of the upper section. Afterwards, additional pairs of teeth will start emerging on either side of these teeth and this can continue until the baby is two and half years or so. By this age, most babies will have 20 baby teeth visible. At an age of 5 or 6 years, some of these baby teeth will start to loosen and fall off and will be replaced by permanent teeth. Not all the baby teeth are going to be replaced by permanent teeth.

In some kids, the arrival of teeth can be a little early or delayed and there is nothing to worry about this. Baby teeth are going to be replaced with adult teeth. Still, it is necessary to take good care of them. Even if they are temporarily occupying the space for adult teeth, they play an important part in defining the beauty of the baby as well as affect their eating and speaking abilities. Messy or lost teeth can affect the confidence levels of the baby. As such it is necessary to help your baby to maintain proper dental hygiene from a very young age in order to have perfect teeth and smile. Teaching the baby to consume healthy food, keeping in mind the advice from your pediatric dentist, can be really helpful in the long run.

While The Baby Is Teething

Some times, babies may feel pain as a result of teething. Kids in the age group of 4 months-21/2 years may develop tender and sore gums. During this period, the babies might act out their discomfort in different ways. Massaging your kid's gums smoothly with your clean fingers or with the help of a spoon can relieve his discomfort. Chewing on teeth ring can be helpful for reducing the discomfort. But teething never cause fever. In the event of fever arising, the baby needs to be checked by a pediatrician to figure out the cause. In case your massaging is not helping the baby to relax, you need to get the help of your pediatrician.

How Do You Handle Your Child's Visits To A Pediatric Dentist?

If the parents look at and explain visits to a dentist in a positive spirit, then the kids will start to look at it the same way as well. It is not a smart move to threaten the kid to take to the dentist for misbehaving. Never offer them any incentives for going to the dentist's office as well. Do not share any scary anecdotes regarding dental visits with your kids. Even if you are scared of going to the dentist yourself, never let your kid know about it. Let the baby see you going to the dentist routinely. Also brush and floss your teeth regularly in front of the baby so that he will learn to follow this habit. If you always describe visits to the dentist's office in a calm manner that would keep the fear away from your kid. Talk as if it is just another occasion in your life, like going for grocery shopping or going to the church, and this would make the experience a lot easier for your kid. The dentist will take X-rays to make sure the teeth is growing as it is supposed to be and also check for signs of possible gum damage or tooth decay. In some cases the baby will be given an appointment to get his teeth cleaned. Some tips may be offered so as to maintain dental hygiene. Just going to the dentist's office and familiarizing the kid with the surroundings and the staff members can be helpful to reduce any anxiety left in him. Most dentists' offices will do their level best to make life easier for your baby while he is there. If you make dentist's visits a regular practice by the age of 3, your baby is going to have a great smile all through his lifetime.

Sealants

Sealants are one of the great dental treatment methods of recent times is Sealants. If you want to prevent your baby from getting cavities on his teeth, then the most efficient name is Sealants. They form a defensive wall between bacteria and the enamel. In this, plastic fluids are painted on the surface of the adult teeth as soon as they start emerging. These are very safe, very quick to dry in a few seconds and can last as long as 5 years. As Sealants cannot protect the area between the teeth, regular brushing, flossing and visits to dentist's office are necessary. If you are using non-fluoridated water, Sealants can reduce the chances of occurrence of cavities in half.

THUMB-SUCKING

This is quite natural for any baby to do just like them trying to grab things. Thumb sucking actually makes the child relaxed and this is exactly why pacifiers help to make them relaxed and happy. But if they do not get over this habit even when they are older, that could be a cause of some problems. Most infants suck on their fingers and give up this habit when they are 4 years or so. If they don't get over this habit when the adult teeth start to grow, this can cause the formation of uneven teeth or uneven palate. The pressure exerted on the teeth and the roof of the mouth by the finger is the reason for this. The level of malformation can change based on factors like the frequency of thumb sucking, duration, location of the finger in the mouth etc. In certain cases, the proportion of the baby's jaws may be affected and this needs to be handled under the supervision of a pediatric dentist. Crooked teeth can be the cause of speech defects as well.

Treatment

A pacifier can be good remedy for thumb sucking. Long-term use of a pacifier can also cause some of the problems associated with thumb sucking. But, a pacifier can be removed, as it is not accessible to the kid all the time. It would be a good idea to stop this habit before the kid starts school. Otherwise they may face ridicule from other kids. When you try to stop this habit is really important. The kid has to agree to stop this habit. In case, he is not wiling to do so, you may ask your dentist to try therapy for this purpose. Kids can be stubborn and some times would do the exact opposite of what you ask them to do. You have to persist with your attempts. Be patient and try to stop this habit. Applying a band-aid on the thumb can act as a warning.

Complement them when they are behaving properly. Small gifts can also be used as encouragement. Try to keep them from sucking for small durations of time during some routine activities. And later you can increase the number sucking-free activities and this will eventually lead to total stoppage of daytime sucking.

How To Handle Sleep Time Sucking?

Assist your baby to get rid of this habit even during sleep. Putting on a glove or sock on the finger can help you in achieving your goal. If your attempts don't succeed in gaining results, you may get the help of your pediatric dentist. Make sure you let them know of this problem around age 6 as the adult teeth start to erupt at this time. Your dentist can place a reminder bar in the kid's mouth. Try to not make a big fuss when the kid is sucking. And make sure you complement them when they are not sucking. As sucking is supposed to make them more relaxed, check to see the reasons of their nervousness, if any. Your dentist may have some tips for you as well.

Space Maintenance

Occasionally, kids lose their teeth before it is supposed to due to reasons like poor oral hygiene or accidents. As the permanent tooth is not ready to take its place yet, the neighboring teeth on either sides or on the opposite jaw may move in to that vacant space. Then, when the actual permanent tooth shows up, it will not have sufficient space and this may cause it to come out crooked or not come out at all. The adverse results of this can be:

Added difficulty in brushing the teeth properly and associated problems like tooth decay.
Added difficulty in chewing properly and this can cause the teeth to over work.
Without proper treatment, this could turn out to be serious dental problems.

It is not uncommon for kids to gain their adult teeth late in their teenage years. Any pediatric dentist will be able to fit a custom sized space maintainer in this empty space. This small metal piece can be removed once the adult tooth emerges. Space maintainer is kept in its place by attaching a band or a wire loop on to the nearby teeth. This will help the neighboring teeth to stay in its regular place.

How To Take Care Of Space Maintainers?

Sticky items like chewing gum and chocolates need to be avoided
Do not exert pressure on the space maintainer either with your tongue or fingers.
Routinely brush and floss it and leave it clean.
Do proper dental check ups once in every 6 months.

Brushing The Baby's Teeth

Frequently Asked Questions

Is It Necessary To Clean My Kid's Teeth?

It is a must do to clean the baby's gums even before the emergence of baby teeth. A soft piece of cloth can be used for wiping after feeding each time. After the teeth come out, brush the baby's teeth using a soft bristled toothbrush. As kids are prone to swallow toothpaste, use only very small quantities of it. Swallowing toothpaste with fluoride in large quantities can cause discoloration of the teeth due to dental fluorosis.

Is There An Easy Way To Brush The Baby's Teeth?

The best position to brush is when the baby is lying on the floor or in your lap. You can also brush with the kid standing and the back of his head is supporting by your body. If you stand in front of a mirror and do the brushing, the kid will be happy to see what is happening. Your dentist can explain and demonstrate this for you and clear your doubts.

Things To Remember While Brushing Your Baby

Plaque is constantly being created on all sides of the teeth surface and also on the gums. Regular tooth brushing is the best remedy to get rid of this. A toothbrush with round shaped soft bristles is the appropriate one for a baby. They come in smaller sizes for kids. And never expect the kids to brush themselves well. As they are not flexible enough, you will have to help them in brushing until they are 10 years or so. Change the brush when the bristles start to lose their shape.

Ten Tips To Make Babies Enjoy Brushing

Get the help of a pediatric dentist and he will use his experience and training and will teach your kid how to brush properly.
As long as the toothbrush is soft and rounded, let your kid choose his/her toothbrush as well as the type of toothpaste he likes. There a lot of kid friendly items available now.
Use only a very small amount of toothpaste, as kids are known to swallow it. In case the kid does not like toothpaste, do not force him/her to use it as it might lead to the start of many unpleasant brushing sessions.
Leave a toothpaste and toothbrush in each of your bathrooms so that it will be easier for your baby.
Make interesting notes as reminders for your baby to brush at appropriate intervals. These can be left on his bed for sleep time or on his lunch box for lunchtime.
You can get the help of your baby while you brush your pets and this will imprint the importance of brushing in his mind forever.
Say good things about their brushing attempts and about its results. They will keep that in their mind and this will act as an encouragement for brushing their teeth regularly.
There are great children's books available at the local libraries. Get some of these books those are written so as to spread the importance of teeth brushing.
Create some songs about the virtues of teeth brushing and sing it with your kid. These songs can be based on the tunes of familiar nursery rhymes.
And lead the kid by example. If you brush and floss your teeth routinely, your kid is going to follow suit and make this a daily habit.

Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

The dental problem, which may lead to the quick decay of baby teeth, is called Baby Bottle Tooth Decay or Baby Bottle Syndrome or Nursing Bottle Mouth. Front teeth on the baby's upper jaw are the ones most vulnerable for this problem. As they are among the very first teeth to emerge, they are exposed to the sugar content present in milk, juices etc fed to the baby for a long time. The bottom front teeth are saved as the baby's tongue is protecting it while he is sucking from a baby bottle or from the mother's breast. As sugar is getting stuck to the teeth at frequent intervals, this may lead to this dental condition. As many babies fall asleep while drinking milk, there will be some milk left on the teeth and the bacteria present in the mouth would be more than happy to convert this milk in to harmful acids which can mess up his teeth.

Extreme Cases Of Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Many a times, it would be too late when the parents notice the teeth damage. Parents should routinely check the teeth of their kids so as to find any problems early. You should be looking for brown markings near the gum line, as it is the sign of dental problems.

In case your kid shows discomfort while eating hard, sweet or cold food items and prefers soft items, it is time to make sure they don't have tooth decay.

In many situations, it will be too late when you have noticed your kid's tooth problems and you may be forced to go for drastic steps like tooth extraction. This can cause problems like speech disorders, uneven teeth, emotional problems etc. If you learn how to keep your kid's teeth healthy and follow up on this, you can prevent such problems. Make sure you brush and floss the kid's teeth regularly. Try to keep the baby awake while feeding any food from a bottle. Avoid using the baby bottle as a pacifier. In between feeding, let your kid drink water too. Use fluoride toothpaste so as to provide sufficient protection for his teeth from tooth decay. Never falter on making dentist appointments at the specified intervals.

TIP

Slowly change your baby's drinks from sugary kind to more watery kind by increasing the water content in them. Babies always start their life with beautiful and strong teeth. You must help your baby to retain those teeth for a lifetime. And the baby is not able to this on his own. And the kid's future dental health will be totally based on your choices.