It’s confusing for most parents regarding how they should be caring for their baby’s oral health. Many believe that once all the teeth erupt, that’s when you start to brush their teeth. Some believe that you should be caring for your baby’s teeth as soon as the first tooth erupts. Some even go as far as believing that you don’t really need to care for your child’s milk teeth since they fall off anyway!
The correct answer is, you must start caring for your baby’s oral health as soon as you start feeding them. How? We’ll get to that in a while but first,
What is teething?
Teething is the sequential process of the first set of teeth coming out from a child’s gum line. These are also called milk teeth or primary teeth. Every baby is born with a set of 20 primary teeth which come out one by one and here’s how you should care for those teeth throughout the teething process:
Stages of teething
Stage I
This is the stage when the first teeth have not erupted yet. However, caring for the baby’s oral health must begin. Make sure to rinse their mouth after feeding them and using a cloth to clean their gums.
Stage II
After about 6 months, the first teeth erupt. These are usually the front teeth and the incisors. This is when you should take your baby to the dentist for the first time. As per Mouth Healthy,
“Your child’s first dental visit should take place after that first tooth appears, but no later than the first birthday.”
Stage III
4 months later, the primary molars start to erupt. This is when you should consider getting a dental consultation with your pediatric dentist. This is because molars act like traps for food particles, inviting bacteria to cause cavities and decay.
Stage IV
When your child is about a year and a half old, the canines appear. Canines are those teeth in between the molars and the incisors. This is when you should start brushing their teeth.
Stage V
Finally, when your child is about 2 years old, larger molars at the back erupt. By this time, the other milk teeth have fully grown. This is a time when you should start taking your kid to a pediatric dentist twice a year. At this stage, your kid is consuming almost every edible item and is the most prone to cavities. Preventive dental care, therefore, is essential.
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