The first tooth has come out! 2016/02/25

One day, suddenly, you notice that your child has something strange in their mouth… it is, a tooth!

Teething process in our babies begins around 4 months old and ends around 2 years old: it is long and very unpleasant.

Generally the first teeth appear around the sixth month and are the lower central incisors, because of their physical qualities they are usually known as popsicles. The upper central incisors follow when the child is one year old, it will end with the complete line of the 4 upper incisors and 4 lower incisors.

Then it is turn for the premolar or first molar, which leave a small space besides the incisors for future canine teeth, which will arrive around 18 months. Last, but not least, the second molars conclude the process and can come out even at 2 and half years old.

The sprout of the teeth comes with itchiness and pain in the gums, which are presented red and inflamed. The flat shape of the incisors cuts the gum helping its sprout and arrival.

In case of larger teeth, the child can experience discomfort, fever, altered sleep, diarrhea, loss of appetite and over all abundant salivation.

To relieve discomfort, according to the child’s age, we can use frozen teething products, these have the function of refreshing and “scratching” the gums when bitten by the baby.

Ask your pediatrician for advice on the use of gels and creams with little anesthetic action to massage the gums.

What is important is to never neglect dental hygiene of our children, taking care of this aspect from a young age: I leave a link to our article “Smile!” which is about how to brush your teeth adequately.

If spots or strange cavities appear on the baby teeth (milk teeth), called this because of their pure white color, remember that they must be treated even if they are destined to fall out.

Loss of teeth begins between ages 5-6 and ends at 12 years old. I show you this simple scheme of the dental arches where the approximate coming out age and fall out is indicated.

And what happens to wisdom teeth?

Also called cordal teeth or third molars, are located at the back of the mouth. According to the shape of the jaw, the 4 of them can appear or none of them.

Their sprout is very painful and if they don’t find enough space for coming out, these molars can cause infections and abscesses or make space by slowly moving the other teeth. This is why it is recommended to take them out. Ask your dentist for advice.

Fun fact: these molars are called wisdom teeth because they appear between ages 17 and 25, meaning, when the “child” is bigger, responsible and should have more wisdom/judgment.