Should I be flossing my children’s baby teeth?  – and other good questions.

• When will my child get his/her first baby tooth?

• Is it a problem if my baby has no teeth at 1 year old?

• My child’s second teeth are coming in crooked – how do I know if he will need braces?

• When should I take my child for his first dentist visit?

• The school dental nurse wants to put sealant on my child’s teeth – should I let her?

Parents naturally want to take good care of their children’s teeth but is has been a long time since they had baby teeth of their own and they are unsure what is normal  and when they should be concerned.

In this series of articles we are going to go over some  some rules of thumb when dealing with baby teeth and  children’s teeth but remember every child is different and if you are worried take your baby along to your next check up and get a professional opinion.

Should I be flossing my child’s teeth?

YES.

As soon as two teeth touch together you should begin with gentle flossing. Usually two of the back teeth will touch first.

Usually you will do it for them but as they get older they will manage this nicely themselves.

It is very important to take care of baby teeth because they hold the places for the adult teeth to come through. If a baby tooth is lost sometimes the permanent tooth can come in crooked.

What do I do if one of my child’s teeth is accidently knocked out?

Place the tooth in cool milk or salt water and get to the dentist immediately

Do not clean the tooth or wash it. The dentist will want to inspect the tooth to make sure there is nothing left behind in the gum.

When will my baby start getting teeth?

Baby teeth begin to appear sometime between 6months and 1 year. The first two teeth to appear are usually the top and bottom two front teeth.
My baby is a nearly a year old and still hasn’t got any teeth.

Don’t worry; they will appear in their own good time. If your child still has no teeth at 15 – 18 months schedule a visit to your dentist so he can take a look and make sure everything is okay.

My child is 7 and he still has all his baby teeth, is this normal?

You child will start to lose his or her baby teeth around the age of 6 years. The process of permanent teeth replacing baby teeth occurs at different rates in different children.

Some start losing them earlier others. Most children have a full set of permanent teeth by the age of 12 or 13.