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HOW CHILDREN’S TEETH ERUPT AND FALL OUT

Having a child is a gift and a rewarding job. However, having children also allow the parents to experience some challenges especially during the teething process. A child may show irritability, experience fever as well as gastroenteritis. Often times, parents just wished the teething process will end only to find out that when a baby develops all his/her teeth, it will erupt and eventually, your child will lose them to be replaced with adult teeth.

Generally, a child will have around 20 baby teeth. These teeth will start erupting when the baby is six months old. Usually, the first baby teeth are the incisors or the bunny teeth which can be found in the front of the mouth. From this moment on, milk teeth will continue erupting until they’ve got their full complement. Typically, these teeth will finish erupting when a child is nearly three years old. This is the perfect time when you should schedule your child’s dentist visit. This is not just to check the child’s teeth but to prepare your child from going to the dentist regularly. When these baby teeth fall off, which they normally would, the dentist visits will be more frequent.

However, how children’s teeth erupt and fall out? Baby teeth erupt because they will serve as placeholders for the permanent teeth. Eventually, baby teeth and its roots will dissolve and it is perfectly natural. They need to fall off to make way for the permanent teeth. Losing all these baby teeth is the ultimate sign that your child is no longer a baby but starts his/her journey as a child. Most kids will experience losing baby teeth at the age of 5 or 6 but it can also happen as early as 4 or as late as 8 years old. Generally, children whose baby teeth erupted early also lose them early).

Baby teeth tend to fall out on their own. Sometimes, they get stuck in the food your child is eating.  For stubborn teeth that don’t fall easily and just hang in there, you can ask your child to wiggle it until it falls off. When a baby tooth falls off, the permanent tooth is usually underneath the gums, just waiting to replace the tooth. Don’t worry if your child’s permanent tooth looks less white. As more and more baby teeth are replaced, the color difference will not be noticeable at all.

Is losing baby teeth painful?

Normally, it is not. It can actually be painless what is why; dentist encourages your child to wiggle it more. However, molars erupting may cause your child’s gum to look swollen and he/she may complain of pain. Giving your child analgesic will help alleviate the pain.

If you have some concerns about your child’s teeth eruption and fall out, you should consider visiting a skilled and qualified dentist, such as ours at Centerville Dentistry for further information about the whole teething process. The process is inevitable so it will be best if you know what to do and expect beforehand.

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