We all have compared different milestones in our children’s lives in their early ages such as height and weight as well as when they first started walking or spoken a word. But do we ever care about their dental developmental milestones? Most of us remember when their first tooth erupted as well the problems they have to face due to teething. But does anyone of us remember those strange moments when they started drooling or when they started brushing? As per experts, children's milestones are measured through how and when they learn, speak, move, behave, and play. In oral health, dental developmental milestones are also significant to your child's ability to eat and smile.
Teeth Eruption in Babies
The primary (baby) teeth compete for their development in your infant's jaw even before their eruption. The eruption of the first baby tooth lays the foundation for future dental checkpoints. From baby teeth to wisdom teeth, how much you take care of your child’s oral health will decide the quality of your child's smile, and eventually their overall health. Experts believe that parents should begin dental care of their children as soon as their first tooth erupts. They also suggest that parents should take their children for regular dental visits and continue in suggested intervals to observe homecare and further development. Taking proper care of teeth in infants is important as they hold space for the permanent teeth, enable speech and nutrition, and should be maintained fully until they naturally exfoliate.
Bottle-Feeding, Thumb-Sucking & Brushing Habits
Once the teeth start arriving in your baby’s mouth, protect them as they let the jaw grow. If you take your child to the dentist from the beginning, regular monitoring will help in the early diagnosis of early problems and abnormalities in your child’s growing dental structure. It's important to monitor the following:
· Administered and supported brushing and flossing
· Thumb- or finger-sucking effects and cessation
· Nutrition and baby bottle habit
· Additional fluoride treatments
Cavities are common in children which is due to lack of proper home care or an improper diet that is high in fructose sugars, mainly when your child is on a bottle feed. Your dentist or dental hygienist can guide you on what should be put in a bottle and when should you discontinue bottle use. Furthermore, they can offer education on oral hygiene and fluoride treatment to avert tooth decay. Finger- and thumb-sucking and use of pacifiers are all normal to some extent, but all these should be instantly stopped if it affects the proper development of proper dental structure including both teeth and jaw. By seeking dental care early, your baby will be on the right track for healthy oral development.
Diverse Dentition
Once your child starts losing baby teeth or primary teeth and the permanent teeth start erupting, then in such a situation, they have a "mixed dentition," which brings specific fears. Your child may begin to take part in sports, show signs of teeth crowding, and make poor selections in their diet. Again, a dental expert will distinguish what preventative or interventional treatment is essential. This may include:
· A sport's mouth guard to safeguard the teeth and jaw.
· Recommendation to an orthodontist.
· Nutritional psychoanalysis to help your child make healthy dietary selections.
· Fluoride treatment and dental sealants to avoid further decay.
Braces and Wisdom Teeth
Once your child enters his or her teen years, the connection between a healthy mouth and a healthy body starts building up. Teenagers who consider their smile important and make efforts to keep it that way or making it healthy, they should be appreciated. Teenage is ideal to get braces or go for orthodontic treatment for better dental structure and shape. The oral hygiene habits in teenagers for the prevention of gum disease and infections should be a major concern. Moreover, being a parent, you should keep a check on the eruption of wisdom teeth. Your dental expert will provide the tools required to shift to a healthy adult mouth. Apart from this, their major focus will be on the following:
· Proper diet, nutrition, and exercise.
· Brushing, flossing, and fluoride use.
· Monitoring the eruption of wisdom teeth.
· Referring to an oral surgeon if required.
The most common problem that teenager has to experience is not having enough space in the jaw so that third molars can easily erupt. If this is the case, it is important to get them removed to avoid future problems. Tooth removal can also be performed during infection, pain, and physical effect on adjacent teeth. For those who have had braces, the orthodontist will lookout these teeth by taking a special x-ray and suggesting oral surgery.
Conclusion:
All the above mentioned age-wise procedures show that developmental milestones are important in your child's life, from babyhood to young adulthood. If you understand the significance of these milestones and let your child’s dental health proceed under the guidance of a dental expert, then you will witness a smooth transition in their oral developmental health from infancy to young adult. By beginning dental care at an early age and upholding regular visits to the dentist McKinney, you will be setting your child on the right track for a lifetime of healthy smiles.