How, When and What - Oral Health Care in Children

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Your Teeth.com

A question we are often asked is "when can I expect my child's baby teeth to come in?"  As a general rule 6 to 7 months is the average time that most children have before any teeth erupt.  However, some children can have teeth appear as early as birth.  You can expect about 20 primary teeth to come in with 32 permanent teeth that will replace them as your child gets older.

By age 3 typically most children have all of their 20 primary teeth. Around the age of 5 or 6 is when some of these primary teeth will begin to loosen and fall out.  The process of replacing the primary teeth with permanent ones is complete, typically around the age of 12-13.  Usually around the age of 14 your child will have 28 permanent teeth in their mouth.  They also will have four additional teeth, or wisdom teeth, that grow behind the permanent teeth in their later teen years.

The reason primary teeth become loose is because the permanent teeth begin to push them out of the way.  The emotions your child can or will exhibit during this process can range from elation to great fear.  Your role, as their parent, is to let them know this is a normal process of life and to explain to them what they can expect.  Encourage them to get those primary teeth out the way to make room for their permanent teeth.  We have seen cases where children were too scared to pull out their primary teeth and the permanent ones fully erupt behind them.  There is nothing to be afraid of.  Whether you encourage visits from the "tooth fairy" as incentive or not, there are other ideas parents have come up with to incentivise their children to overcome their hesitancy or fear and pull their little teeth out.

Please call to schedule your child's semi-annual check up.  We can help you know what to expect through the great technology of our digital x-rays.  We can catch problems before they happen if we can see your children twice a year.  If at anytime your children requires some dental intervention to fix issues that may present themselves, you can be confident in our ability to work with you and your child to achieve the desired outcome of a healthy and happy child.

Call to schedule your appointment today!

(541) 451-1440