Introduction
As a parent, seeing your baby reach new milestones is always exciting. Throughout your first year, you may find yourself running around the camera many times to capture that first smile, laughter or tentative step. While the drooling and moodiness that often come with the baby’s first tooth may not cause as much celebration as his first word, seeing the first tooth is something many parents expect.
Dental development
Since the baby’s teeth form in the jaw, a tooth must grow through the bone before it is pushed through the gum. It is not uncommon for the area of the gums, where the tooth appears to become red and swollen. This disappears as the tooth comes out. Once your baby’s teeth have erupted through the gum, the roots take an average of 18 months to form.
The first teeth to come out are usually the two lower teeth in between. These teeth usually appear when a baby is about 6 months old. However, some babies have their first tooth when they are only 3 months old. Since the age of teething varies, other children cannot get that first tooth until 18 months of age. Inheritance plays a key role. The age at which the baby begins teething depends on the age the parents had when the first teeth appeared. Children have 20 baby teeth. The term and order in which the teeth come in may differ.
Prenatal training
The baby’s first teeth begin to form before birth. According to the American Dental Association, what you eat during pregnancy affects the development of your unborn child’s teeth. The development of teeth begins between the third and the sixth month of pregnancy. For this reason, you should eat a well-balanced diet that includes adequate amounts of calcium and phosphorus, proteins and vitamins A, C and D. These are the nutrients needed for the fetus to develop healthy teeth. Although tooth enamel begins to form intrauterine, it does not complete its hardening until several months after birth.
Your baby’s teeth
When the crown of a tooth breaks the gum, it is covered by what is known as the enamel cuticle, which forms when the tooth is developing. This thin layer of film covers a newly erupted tooth. Chewing and dental brushing eventually wear this coating on young dental enamel. The first front teeth that are sharp; are intended to bite and not to chew. The teeth are teeth to chew. The first molars of the baby begin to emerge approximately between the 12 to 16 months of age. The second molars, which can be painful when they sprout, do not start to come out until sometime around a child’s second birthday. The lower canines come after the first molars.
Positioning of teeth
Maintaining the health of the primary teeth is necessary for the permanent teeth to develop in a healthy way. The lips, gums and cheeks affect how the teeth are placed and spaced. Correct alignment of the primary teeth generally leads to permanent teeth aligning properly in the mouth. Although the tongue pushes out the teeth, the lips and the cheeks provide an inner balance. The primary teeth maintain the space for the permanent teeth to come out in the correct position. Primary teeth also help the jaw bones and upper and lower muscles to develop normally.