Milk Teeth
When do milk teeth come out?
The first milk teeth begin to erupt at an average of 6-8 months, but we can rarely come across babies born with milk teeth. At the age of 2.5-3, primary dentition is completed with the eruption of the second primary molars and there are 20 teeth in total in the mouth. However, deviations of a few months that can be observed in tooth eruption times are considered normal.
What are the symptoms of teething?
During the eruption of milk teeth, redness, tenderness, pain and itching, insomnia, restlessness, irritability, increased salivation, biting desire, loss of appetite and fever may be observed in the relevant area.
What should be done to relieve the baby’s pain while teething?
During this period, a gentle massage can be applied to the gums with fingers or a soft toothbrush, teethers can be soothing, or topical gels containing local anesthetics can be applied to the reddened area. In addition, the use of antipyretic and painkillers under the control of the dentist may be necessary for the treatment of the systemic condition.
In which cases should a pedodontist be consulted during the teething period?
If the symptoms observed during the teething period are severe, if the symptoms do not go away in a few days, and if they affect the baby’s nutrition, the pedodontist should examine and recommend the necessary treatment.
What should be considered to protect the newly emerging milk teeth?
First of all, the teeth should be cleaned. For this purpose; As soon as the first teeth erupt (6-8 months), cleaning should be started using a wet clean cheesecloth or wet gauze. After the eruption of the milk molars is completed (2.5-3 years), the use of toothbrush can be started with the development of the spit reflex. In addition, if the baby sleeps with a bottle of milk, juice or any sugary drink during the night, the mother breastfeeds during the night, or the pacifier is filled with jam, honey, etc. immersion can cause the development of ‘bottle rot’. For this reason, care should be taken not to sleep by drinking any beverage other than water, including breast milk, during the night. In addition to these measures, ‘fissure sealant’ applications can also be performed in order to protect healthy teeth that are not yet caries-free. Fissure sealants help prevent caries formation by being applied to caries-free milk and permanent teeth without any abrasion on the tooth surface. Fluor gel applications also affect the tooth enamel structure, making the teeth more resistant to acids and helping to prevent the formation of caries. In addition to these, routine check-ups performed every 6 months also ensure that oral health is regularly checked and followed and newly formed caries are treated before they get deeper.
Why is it important for milk teeth to stay in the mouth?
Milk teeth stay in the mouth until the age of 10-12 and play an important role in the child’s oral-dental health and general health. The main purpose of keeping the milk teeth in the mouth is to prevent the extraction of the milk teeth and to ensure that the permanent teeth that will replace the milk teeth are erupted in a healthy way. Milk teeth refer to permanent teeth and give direction to permanent teeth. For this reason, early loss of milk teeth may result in crowding in the future and may lead to orthodontic problems. In addition to these, it is important that milk teeth remain healthy in the mouth until permanent teeth erupt, in terms of nutrition, phonetics and aesthetics.
What should be done when milk teeth decay?
As soon as the caries is noticed, the child should be examined by the pedodontist and the necessary treatment should be done without waiting for the complaint of pain. Ignoring the caries with the thought that the milk teeth will fall out anyway will cause the caries to deepen.
What are the disadvantages that may occur in the teeth in case of extraction of milk teeth?
As a result of the extraction of milk teeth at a young age; After extraction, the space narrows and the places necessary for permanent teeth to erupt are lost. Due to this loss of space, permanent teeth cannot erupt, can remain impacted in the jawbone, and orthodontic treatment may be required by causing orthodontic problems. For this reason, primary tooth extraction should be avoided as much as possible, but in cases where tooth extraction is unavoidable, fixed or mobile appliances called ‘placeholders’ should be applied to the extraction cavity.
In addition, tooth extraction performed at a young age may cause fear and phobia in children and may lead to deterioration of patient compliance in all future treatment procedures.
How is the treatment of children with fear of the dentist carried out?
In children with fear of the dentist, the tools to be used should be explained in a simple language and introduced before the procedure, the child’s confidence should be gained by starting with simple and short procedures in order to get used to the tools and the pedodontist and overcome his fear, and the child should be as confident as possible in the child’s seat.
