We recommend that you bring your infant for a check-up by their first birthday or when the first baby teeth appear.

You may wonder, “Why are baby teeth so important if they’re only going to fall out anyway?” That’s a question we hear quite often. Well, baby teeth may be more important than you think — early loss of baby teeth can harm the permanent teeth and lead to overcrowding and crooked adult teeth.  Baby teeth can stay in the mouth up to 14 years of age and baby teeth are critical for speech development, ability to eat properly and forming a path that the permanent teeth can follow.

Did you know that fruit juice and even milk may damage baby teeth? Habits such as prolonged thumb sucking, the use of pacifiers or tongue thrusting can lead to severe bite problems?

Typical issues for infants include:

• Tooth Development
• Teething
• Baby Bottle Decay or Early Childhood Caries
• Sucking Habits
• Dental Injuries
• Anxiety

Tooth Development
Even before your baby’s teeth start to erupt it is important to check their mouth regularly to make sure everything looks normal. Checking regularly will also allow you the opportunity to notice when your infant’s baby teeth begin to erupt — which is usually around their sixth month. If your baby is 12 months old and baby teeth haven’t erupted yet, you should bring your child in to our practice for a check-up. By 18 months, babies usually have six bottom teeth and six upper teeth. All 20 primary teeth should have erupted by their third birthday.

Teething
If your baby is becoming increasingly irritable, drooling more than usual, is having trouble sleeping, and has been losing their appetite, it may be a sign that they are teething. Check their gums for signs of swelling or bleeding and feel around for any sign that a tooth is erupting. The best thing to do for your baby during this time is to keep their mouth clean by using a damp gauze pad or wash cloth and by giving them a teething ring.

Baby Bottle Syndrome
One of the more serious dental problems related to dietary habits is nursing bottle decay, otherwise known as Baby Bottle Decay or early childhood caries. This condition usually occurs in young children between the ages of one and two who use a nursing bottle containing milk, juice, or soda as a bedtime/naptime pacifier. These fluids are rich in sugar and, as swallowing is reduced during sleep, the sugars in the fluids have time to react with bacteria in the mouth which triggers the beginning of the decaying process. It’s for this reason that nothing sweet should be rubbed on pacifiers. Prolonged exposure to the sugars in milk and juice can turn teeth brown and cause them to lose their strength — they can turn rubbery in texture and they can even begin to crumble away which can result in further complications, including pain and  infection. Treatment for this condition depends on the severity of decay but can often result in the placing of crowns over the damaged teeth. This may require treatment in a hospital setting with child asleep.

Sucking Habits
Sucking habits such as thumb or digit sucking, and tongue thrusting can cause a number of problems with a child’s dental development, including severe malocclusion (bad bites), open bites and cross-bites. Many children suck their thumbs but stop the habit early enough to avoid any dental complication. However, if a child continues to suck their thumb and/or digits beyond the age of five or six, they can cause severe problems to their bite which often requires treatment.
Our goal is to motivate the child to quit their sucking habit on their own to avoid the possibility of treatment. However, in some cases we use fixed habit appliances to discourage and eliminate a thumb sucking or a tongue thrusting habit. These appliances are made specifically for each individual case to ensure proper fit and function.

Dental Injuries
Infants are especially prone to dental injuries. As babies learn to crawl and walk they are prone to falling and could possibly damage their teeth and/or surrounding gum tissue. Injury that results in a chipped, cracked, loose, or lost tooth should be treated and evaluated by our office immediately.

Anxiety
It is not uncommon for young children to be anxious when visiting a dentist’s office. We do all we can to relieve your child’s anxiety — we are specially trained to understand child behavior, our staff loves working with children, and, from the relaxing atmosphere to the special fun area, our office has been designed with children in mind. We also recommend that you bring your children in for regular check-ups so they become used to visiting us and we become friendly faces. It’s also important not to be too nervous yourself as children can sense parents’ emotions through words and gestures — the less anxious you are, the less anxious your child will be.

If you have any questions regarding your infant and their oral health feel free to ask. We’re here to baby your infant’s smile because early dental care today leads to a healthy smile tomorrow.