Teething and ChangingFrom Baby to Adult Teeth

At birth

Four years old

Six years old

Twelve years old

Baby teethAdult teeth

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It is advisable to take your child to the first dentalappointment before the child has sprouted all thetwenty baby teeth between the age of two andthree years. During the first visit to the dentistthe child will be introduced to the dentist’s clinicenvironment, the child’s teeth will be examined,while the parents will receive instructions on carefor their child’s teeth, diet and the use of fluoride.Regular dental check-ups once a year are animportant part of preventive care for your child’steeth.

Dentist Check-ups

Tooth traumas are common, especially amongchildren who are literally making their first stepsin life. Excessive bleeding occurs in wounds inthe mouth’s mucus membrane, but healing is alsorapid and often leaves no marks. It is also commonthat teeth become loose, especially teeth in themiddle front row on the upper gum, while enamelcan chip or a tooth/teeth break. It is importantto have your dentist assess the trauma and observethe child for some time there after.

Tooth Trauma

Teething usually occurs between the age of sixand eight months, with new teeth continuing toerupt until all twenty baby teeth are in place bytwo-and-a-half years of age. Teething can beaccompanied by such symptoms as mild pain anditching gums, as well as increased salivation anddrooling that occurs around this period. Teethingnever causes prolonged high fever.

Baby (or milk) teeth play an important role,allowing your child to chew foods that laterstimulate bone and muscle formation. Moreover,growth of the lower part of the face also dependsto some extent on the use of jaws. Baby teethoccupy the space where adult teeth will comethrough in the future, and children also needhealthy front teeth in order to be able topronounce the s, f, v, fl and › sounds correctly.

Transition from baby to adult teeth occurs betweenthe age of six and twelve years. First adult teetharrive at six, when six-year molars appear behindbaby molars. Then permanent front teeth (1,2),eye teeth (3) and pre-molars (4,5) push throughto replace the baby teeth. By the end of thisperiod, twelve-year-molars (7) appear behind thesix-year molars (6).

Take your baby to the dentist’s not laterthan at the age of two to three years

Dental care should start as early as possible in a child’s life,and not later than after your baby has cut its first tooth. Asa parent, you play a key role in protecting your child’s teeth.It is recommended that you take your baby to the first dentistappointment not later than between the age of two and three.Regular dentist check-ups, good oral hygiene and healthyeating habits – all contribute to a beautiful and healthy smilethat will last a lifetime!

DietBreast milk is the best nutrition for infants, as it contains all nutrients thatchildren need in order to grow and develop during the first six months oftheir life. It is advised that you use breast milk and/or special infant milkformulas as a part of nutrition during the first year of your baby’s life orlonger. Once teething occurred, it is recommended to cut down bedtimefeeds and give the child some water if the child wakes up thirsty at night.Avoid putting fruit juices in the bottle and NEVER give your child fruit juiceat bedtime.

We all need varied diets, and healthy eating habits form the foundation ofgood oral health. Let us accustom our children to consuming nutritiousfoods at meal times and offer the teeth-friendly snacks in between – ifneeded. We should also limit the intake of sweets between meals, andrestrict the use of sodas and fruit juicesto certain meal times. Remember thatcold water is the best thirst-quencher.

Bacteria in the oral cavity sticking toteeth surface, or the so-called dentalgerms, convert sugar contained in foodinto milk acids. These acids dislodgeminerals in the tooth enamel, startingtheir decay-causing work approxi-mately half an hour after sugarconsumption. Saliva, which plays thekey role in the body’s defence systemagainst tooth decay, usually managesto neutralise acids during this half-hour period, so that teeth recoverdissolved minerals from saliva and re-calcify. If normal time elapses betweenmeals, the body’s defence system wins the fight against acids, and toothdecay is kept at bay. Constant snacking, on the other hand, is more thanthe defence system can cope with. A bite of cheese after meal is a goodprotection against decay, and so is sugar-free chewing gum, as they increasesaliva flow in the mouth, and, consequently, accelerate acid neutralisation.If oral hygiene is lacking and dental germs manage to accumulate, theyhinder access to teeth surface for saliva, and the defence system does notcope.

Cold water is the bestthirst-quencher

Caring for Children’s Teeth

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It is believed that stable fluoride content in theoral cavity is necessary to keep teeth healthy.Fluoride takes part in the constantly ongoingrepair process on the teeth surface, and also hasa disruptive effect on the functioning of decay-causing bacteria. Fluoride’s impact is localizedon the tooth surface, and has the same preventiveinfluence for all age groups.

Brushing a baby’s teeth with fluoride toothpasteof 0,1% F- strength twice a day maintains minimalfluoride content in the mouth cavity, thereforeplaying an important role in routine protectionagainst tooth decay. Please keep in mind thatbecause children under six usually swallow alarge part of toothpaste put in their mouths, itis important not to allow them to portion tooth-paste themselves, and it is safest to keep tooth-paste out of children’s reach.

Although general use of fluoride pills for children’steeth protection is no longer recommended,

certain children who are at risk of tooth decayneed more fluoride protection than brushingteeth twice a day can provide. Your dentist shouldadvise you on additional fluoride intake, and itis important to follow his/her instructions on thecorrect use of fluoride.

Children between six and fifteen years of agewho are sprouting new adult teeth need anincreased intake of fluoride in the form of fluoridevarnish and rinse, and bad eating habits also callfor additional fluoride.

Fluoride

The right amount of fluoride toothpaste

We should brush baby’s teeth twice a day witha sufficient amount of fluoride toothpaste of0.1% F- strength from the time the first toothhas erupted. Before teething starts it is advisedto rub the infant’s gums and tongue with a moistcloth. Bear in mind that fluoride content variesfrom one baby toothpaste to another and issometimes not sufficient. Moreover, markings ontoothpaste can be unclear, but 0.1% F- or 1mgF-/ml corresponds to 1000 ppm. Children cannottake care of their teeth by themselves until theyreach ten years of age, and even after that theycan do it only under parental supervision.

In order to reduce the probability of tooth decayit is necessary to brush teeth with fluoride tooth-paste twice a day – after breakfast and beforegoing to bed. For brushing the teeth of a childwho is cutting his first teeth and until the childis two, use the amount of fluoride toothpastethat corresponds to one fourth of the nail on thebaby’s pinkie. From the time when all baby teethhave arrived and until the age of six, use theamount of fluoride that corresponds to the sizeof the nail on the baby’s pinkie. It is notrecommended to rinse the mouth after toothbrushing: it will do to let the child spit out. Thisway fluoride in the toothpaste is believed to worklonger to prevent decay.

It is recommended to hold youngest babies firmlyin a reclining position while cleaning their teeth.As to older babies, you can offer them a seat inthe ‘parent chair’ specially arranged for this: aparent sits cross-legged; the baby sits on his legs.The baby’s back is turned to the parent, and hishead rests on the parent’s thigh. The parent canhold the infant’s cheeks and chin with the fingersof one hand while brushing his teeth with theother.

We recommend using a toothbrush with tight,fine and soft hair on a mesh head, while thehandle should fit well into the adult’s hand.

Child teeth need as much flossing as adult ones,and with dental floss we can clean those toothsurfaces that are out of the toothbrush’s reach.It is time to start using dental floss when teethsurfaces start meeting.

The sucking need is inborn in infants, and it ismore desirable to accustom them to pacifiers(dummies) than to have them suck their fingers.Never put any sweets on the pacifier. Honey cancause stomach and intestinal infections in littlebabies, and there is nothing as damaging to child’sdelicate teeth after teething as sweets.

The sucking need varies between children. Long-term pacifier use or vigorous finger sucking cancause bite misalignments, such as cross-bite inthe molar area, which manifests itself in the uppergum being narrower than the lower one and/or

in a gap opening up between front teeth whenmolars are brought together. These changes oftenrevert automatically when the child stops usingthe pacifier or stops sucking a finger before theage of three. It can be difficult to break the habitof finger sucking in children, and it is importantto seek the dentist’s assistance in time if the needpersists.

Sucking NeedIt is necessary to accustom childrento doing without a pacifier beforethey are three years old

Fluoride for all

The right amountof fluoride tooth-paste up to sixyears of age.

Oral Hygiene

Clean teeth meanhealthy teeth

‘parent chair’

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Caring for Children’s Teeth

The right amountof fluoride tooth-paste up to twoyears of age.