With the television advertisements urging us to brush our teeth twice daily and dentists showing us the consequences of not doing so, urban population is well-aware about the importance of oral hygiene. But what about our children?
It has been observed that in spite of teaching good brushing habits, an overwhelming number of children are turning up with cavities in their teeth and other dental problems. Could this be attributed to lack of awareness in parents regarding importance of milk teeth, apart from other factors?
What is the importance of milk teeth??
There is a common myth among parents that milk teeth are of no use as they will obviously be falling off soon to be replaced by permanent teeth. In reality that concept is far from the truth. The first baby tooth erupts in the infant’s mouth around the age of 6–8 months and all milk teeth keep erupting sequentially till the age of 2 years approximately. (Pssst…That’s the time your baby puts everything in his mouth and is the most irritable, yes..teething)
The first milk teeth to start falling off are the lower front incisors at the age of 6–7 years(when they are wobbly), then the upper incisors and so on.
Contrary to common beliefs, the primary molars do fall off but much later viz. around 8–10 years of age sequentially. And you thought your molar teeth didn’t shed??!!
From 6 months of age to 10 years, these milk teeth have an essential function to fulfill apart from helping in chewing and speech, that is to guide the permanent teeth into their proper position which take up the space occupied by the milk teeth. So a premature loss of milk teeth either by extraction(removal of tooth by a dentist) before its natural time of exfoliation could lead to irregularly arranged permanent teeth and might cost you your precious dollars to get those orthodontic treatments done.
It is common knowledge that we must visit a dentist, but not many are aware (specially in the country I live in) that specialized dental surgeons are available to cater to the dental care of children, known as pediatric dentists. Or kids’ dentist or children dentist or a pedodontist…what’s in a name…!
Who are pediatric dentists??
They are dental surgeons specializing in the dental treatment and prevention of dental problems of infants and children through adolescence, till the age of 13 years. We need a specialized dentist for children essentially because of the difference, in the nature of treatment they require, from adults.
Pediatric dentists are also trained to treat children with special health care needs like Downs syndrome, Autism, cerebral palsy, ADHD or other developmental or physiological disorders.
Not only are the treatment protocols for milk teeth or young permanent teeth of children different, but the manner of dealing with an anxious or fearful child also requires specialized training and knowledge of child psychology in order to alleviate the fears of the child. Pediatric dentistry or child dentistry also mainly aims towards prevention of any dental problems and building a positive attitude and habit towards oral hygiene maintenance in children.
A child’s oral health is as important as general health for normal physiological development. With proper care, a balanced diet and regular dental visits, children can have a lifetime of healthy smiles.
