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Child dentistry
Dentistry for children
Child dentistry is not prototypical dentistry. It involves helping the children develop a positive bent of mind towards oral hygiene and health. Child dentistry has to be practiced in a way so as to alleviate the fear associated with dental clinic and dental treatment from a child’s mind right from the beginning.
First Visit to the Dentist
Visiting a dentist can be scary for a child especially if child is in pain. Well, it doesn’t have to be. The earlier you introduce your child to the dentist, the more comfortable they’ll be. The first visit should be short, more like an ice-breaker than a working appointment. If they feel welcome and safe, the subsequent visits would be stress-free, both for the parents as well as the child.
Few tips.
· Treat it as a casual sneak preview, not a special event. Help your child understand why it is important and make him feel comfortable. Don’t look stressed out or anxious yourself.
· Let your child converse with the staff freely or look around the facility casually so as to acclimatize with the new environment.
· Make the ‘preview visit’ during a quiet time of the day instead of it being a rushed out appointment during busy schedule.
· While at clinic, allow us to share some tips about right way of brushing and home care of teeth.
Baby Teeth
The appearance of little white spots in a gummy smile mark the first milestone of a child’s growth, new parents so anxiously wait for. These pint-sized choppers play an important role in the development of not only permanent teeth and mouth but also the middle and lower face.
The babies are born with an initial set of 20 teeth known as Deciduous Teeth. They lay protected beneath the gums during the initial stages of breast-feeding. The first tooth (most likely the lower front tooth) pokes out of the gums somewhere around 6 months of child’s age and the child would have all 20 milk teeth by the age of 3 years.
Teething Troubles
Initial signs of teething appear when the child is about 4 months of age though the first tooth would appear in the mouth around 6 months of age. The most obvious signs of teething are :-
- Drooling: child would start to drool more than usual
- Chewing: The itching in the gums would make the child try putting solid objects or fingers in the mouth quite frequently.
- Swollen gums: Gums may look swollen
- Irritability: Constant itching in the gums would make most children irritable and cranky.
- Loose stomach: This happens since the child keeps putting everything and anything in the mouth leading to stomach infection.
What to do
- Rub the gum with clean fingers to soothe it.
- Use a cold washcloth to alleviate pain in gums.
- Give a clean and if possible cold teething ring to chew upon. Make sure to clean it periodically.
- Clean the drool with a moist cloth to avoid dryness or soreness around mouth. Keep the mouth moisturised at all times.
Why the milk teeth are important
- Milk teeth are important not only because it makes the child look cute but also because they lay a healthy foundation for the permanent teeth to follow.
- The milk teeth help in the growth of gum bones and muscles and create space for the permanent teeth as and when they come into the mouth.
- The front teeth are important as they help in phonetics, the speech learning.
- The back teeth are important for proper chewing of food which help in the development of digestive system.
A word of caution
Milk teeth are more organic, softer than the permanent teeth so they are more prone to cavities. Taking care of milk teeth will go a long way in ensuring that the child has a good permanent dentition that lasts him a lifetime. Regular visits to the dentist are recommended. Help your dentist help the child keep his milk teeth in the mouth till they are needed.
Common Dental Problems in Children
- Dental Caries or cavities: They need to be treated when they are small. Deep cavities might require Root canal treatl.
- Habits: Thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, mouth breathing, nail biting.
- Overlapping teeth: This happens when the milk teeth are shedding and the permanent teeth are coming in the mouth. Time to see your orthodontist.
- Injury: Could be due to a fall or collision. Time to visit the dentist.
The mixed Dentition period; the time when the milk teeth are shedding & the new permanent teeth are erupting is the best time to consult the ORTHODONTIST.