PARENT'S GUIDE FOR TRANSITION FROM MILK TEETH TO PERMANENT TEETH

"MY TOOTH IS LOOSE".... and I DON'T WANT TO LOSE IT!!!

This was the text which i got from my nephew few days back, and that made me write a few words on this topic.

LOSING A  BABY TEETH... This represents a big milestone in your child's life. Baby teeth have to fall out to make way for permanent teeth to grow.

Most kids are excited to feel a tooth wiggle ( and perhaps get a visit from tooth fairy.. or some feel its a sign that they are 'grown up ' now) , while some worry it will hurt when the tooth falls out. 

If your child is worrier,you can reassure him that he probably won't feel anything.

However , it's usually not until we have children of our own, that we wonder why we even have baby teeth and what really happens in that transition to adult teeth.

So here are some facts, which if you are already aware with, can help you and your child, to cope this milestone with ease.

KNOW YOUR MILK TEETH 

MILK TEETH also better known as PRIMARY/ DECIDUOUS/ BABY TEETH. They begin to develop even before child is born and most have a full set of 20 Teeth , by the time they turn 3. 

Now, milk teeth starts to erupt in mouth from around  6 months of age and completely exfoliates between 10-12 years.. first milk tooth starts to fall out by 6-7 years, making ways for permanent teeth.

It takes around 6 yrs ( between ages 6-12 yrs) for children to loose primary teeth and gain their permanent teeth. This is called " PERIOD OF MIXED DENTITION", as for much time they will have both primary and permanent teeth.

Since the tenure of milk teeth is extended till the mentioned age range,  its quite important to keep these teeth HEALTHY AND CAVITY FREE. This lays a strong and healthy foundation for permanent teeth to erupt properly.

WHY DO WE HAVE BABY TEETH
 Milk teeth are essential for development of mouth and jaw, also helps maintain arch length of jaw.
They acts a guide to permanent teeth.
They also help with speech development
Also helps assist when a child is learning to chew.

WHEN DO KIDS START LOOSING TEETH?

Most often this is the pattern which is followed for eruption of permanent  teeth 

Upper - lower front teeth  -   6-8 years 

Canines                             -   9-10 years 

Molars                               -   10-12 years 

 Order in which that teeth emerge can vary and plus or minus 6-12 months can differ with every child. 

Parents should be more concerned about symmetry( the same teeth coming in at the same time on both sides ), than the time teeth emerge.

Eventually 20 PRIMARY TEETH  are replaced with 32 PERMANENT TEETH. 

FEW IMPORTANT FACTS TO CONSIDER 

FIRST IN, FIRST OUT.

Milk teeth usually fall out naturally when permanent one are right underneath them.

Mostly they fall in same order that they came in.

OUT WITH THE OLD

Encourage your child to gently wiggle a wobbly tooth with their tongue. ( some loose teeth can actually be rotated because the root underneath has almost completely disintegrated. ) 

IN WITH THE NEW 

The new teeth may look bigger, especially those first few.... Adult teeth also tend to be less whiter than baby teeth and have pronounced ridges at margins ( because they are still not used much for chewing).
If 6-7 yrs old complain of soreness in the back of his mouth, it's probably the first permanent molars coming in ( he has no baby teeth there to fall out ).

PARENTS .. U ALL NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS TRANSITION OF TEETH TO KIDS, so that they can understand the process smoothly.

TIPS FOR PARENTS DURING THIS PROCESS

1. TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR CHILD'S BRUSHING... as children usually avoid brushing around loose teeth. Gentle brushing is fine, but skipping brushing completely is not recommended.

2.ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILD TO WIGGLE AROUND THE LOOSE  PRIMARY TOOTH WITH THEIR TONGUE if  required. Also most children will ask their parent to pull out a loose tooth. At that moment ,the parent will need to grab the tooth confidently with a tissue and pull it out with a quick thrust.
If the tooth is resistant, try it again after few days. You also have the option of visiting a dentist.

3. PROVIDE SOFT FOOD as wobbly tooth can potentially lead to sensation of soreness within their mouth.

4. REPLACE TOOTHBRUSH EVERY 3-4 MONTHS ( sooner if the bristles get frayed). Also make sure your child sees a dentist twice a year.

5. In case of severe pain/ discomfort during stages of exfoliation,CONSULT YOUR DENTIST and professional extraction can be considered.
Majority of times, it's a natural phenomenon of growth and does not require any treatment .


SUMMARY

We were all children, innocent and naive, always with the big smile on our faces. But when that time came and our teeth started to move, we all panicked and began to cry that we will lose our teeth. YOU NEED TO TELL YOUR CHILD EARLY about this milestone coming ahead,about losing his/her teeth.
It is IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO BE ASSURED, everything will be alright and another set of teeth will grow instead of the old ones.
And once replacement starts,TELL YOUR CHILD ABOUT IMPORTANCE OF PROPER DENTAL CARE.

Dr AVNI SHAH

CHIEF DENTIST
THE DENTAL  HOME
SATELLITE, AHMEDABAD

HEALTHY MOUTH , HEALTHY BODY - A MOTHER'S PERSPECTIVE!!!

Sometimes I feel life has been a juggle after Pregnancy....

As much as I wanted to get back to work after He was born, but the break extended to around a year or so..

I being a dentist by profession, and having our own private clinic in the city, had some privilage to again start afresh by working only few hours a day..
Initially it took every Nerve in my Body to stay afloat, sometimes even sinking and then taking some extra effort to get back... but slowly it all started getting tuned up..

During my work hours, I encounter with many child patients and treat them  for their cavity issues..Also It's not that I didn't practice treating them before, but since now I am also a mother,  I could connect with them more strongly...

Every child is precious to their parents and they try to give them best of all world... Today , I would like to begin with giving GIFT OF HEALTH , to my family !!

Oral health is as important for the family as overall Health, and you will be surprised to know the link between healthy mouth and healthy body!!

Now you may ask me, what does your mouth have to do with your overall Health.. and my answer would be... PLENTY!!!



Your mouth is a window into what's going on in your body, often serving as a helpful vantage point for detecting early signs and symptoms of few systemic diseases, like diabetes, severe acidity etc...A look inside or a swab of saliva can tell your doctor volumes about whats going on inside your body.


As you all know, AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE, so why don't we mother's take this initiative to give a preventive learning approach to our children.

Mother's are said to be the HEART OF HOME , a LIGHT OF LEARNING, and a COORDINATOR OF RESPONSIBILITIES. Mother's are often their child's first role model, coach and cheerleader when they are young.

So today as a DENTIST cum MOTHER , I would like to share few of my insights to all Mummies out there...

1. Begin a PILOT PROJECT of  HEALTH PROMOTING PRACTICES at your home, for supporting a healthy lifestyle. It includes all starting from healthy eating to physical fitness,and simultaneously creating a stress free and safe environment for your entire family.
Initially start implementing it by yourself and then you can encourage the  whole family to take control of their own health and well being.

2. Become a TEACHER as well as a LEARNER with them to model positive attitudes.

3. Lastly , for a GOOD ORAL HEALTH, and to get that FEAR OF UNKNOWN out of them, follow this  easy 3C'S formula...

   a. COORDINATE WITH YOUR NEAR BY DENTIST.... learn the basic teeth care practices like, proper brushing technique, importance of rinsing after every meal, flossing etc...

   b. CREATE an environment at home , where everyone participates in these health practices .

   c. CELEBRATE your preventive learning approach and this  GIFT OF HEALTH with your family.

                                       
       
 DR AVNI SHAH
Chief Dentist
The Dental Home....
Satellite, Ahmedabad.. 

GOD OF ORAL (DENTAL) HEALTH

What are you searching for ?

 Some secret formula to be Healthy or  Fit all your life..

Did anyone found that yet?

Most of us know that being ill or unable  to do anything effectively because of improper health, is the worst feeling we can have.

And most of us are also very much aware that rather than seeking medical help , we mostly rely on wisdom of our limited knowledge and self hypnotize ourself that nothing is going to happen to me.

But guys , is this Denial mode going to help us ?

We all must learn to face life as it is  and learn from the experiences we have in our life and also Educate our next generation about it .


A VISIT TO THE DENTIST 

Sounds scary ?

Well, I must admit  that I too felt the same and was also very much scared of them, until I took admission into dentistry .

With each progressing day , I found out, that all my fear was due to Imagination of having pain when dentist will perform any procedure .

 People who priorly visited dentist also personified the  dental pain as a  horrible experience .. and this summed up to my FEAR OF UNKNOWN...

OLD DAYS ...SCARY AND PAINFUL DENTISTRY

But now as a grown up and being a dentist myself,  I am now familiar with many insights of this profession, about ways with which can we minimize our fear and avoid unnecessary dental pain , which we go through routinely only because of DENTAL PHOBIA.

MODERN DAY...SOPHISTICATED ,COMFORTABLE AND PAINLESS DENTISTRY

5 LESSONS FOR BETTER ORAL HEALTH


1. Remind yourself .....Just like any other specialist doctors I visit for various illness, whenever I  will have problems in my teeth, gums or mouth, instead of taking it to be granted, I need to visit  to a  Dentist .

2.Just like whenever I have any kind of fever or injury in the body , and to have a speedy recovery for the same, I undergo all kinds of investigations , same way  I should visit  A Dentist for routine dental check up ,so as to  have minimum painful surprises in life .

3. My belief in GOD who is the only healer of all wounds should have no problem in taking help from people  (DENTISTS ) who day and night do only one thing that is finding better and comfortable way to treat dental pain.

4.Our body is under constant FLUX ..means it is not in a static /fixed mode all the time , inner and outer environment has constant force on our body which can change equilibrium/ balance  , same goes  to our mouth too , where we eat different kinds of food , of different temperature ranges ,plus intake of  acidic drinks plus stress plus hereditary issues ,all these  things make our mouth vulnerable to many possible oral problems . Also we humans have found out cure of most diseases in science ,but now its time to focus more on Prevention .. and maintaining oral health to its  optimum level.

5.MOST IMP.
we can solve all our fears by Communicating it with the experts of the field.

Believe me, Dentist's only aim is to give painless and comfortable treatment to their patients ,so that they come back again to them ,then why one should not express all their anxiety and fear to dentists.

 Humans are moving from Survival to Celebration mode , Make sure it applies to Health too.

So to EVERYONE out there who wants to have fully functioning mouth without any kind of pain or doubts about how to maintain their ORAL HEALTH,

DO VISIT YOUR NEARBY DENTIST TODAY ..

YOU WILL FEEL EMPOWERED BY KNOWING STATUS OF YOUR ORAL HEALTH AND TECHNIQUES TO MAINTAIN IT BY YOUR OWN 

 YOU WILL BE ABLE TO GUIDE YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS AS WELL!!