About Teething
What should I do if my baby is teething late and in the wrong order?
Under normal circumstances, the baby will erupt the first deciduous tooth around 6 months, and the average time for all 20 deciduous teeth to erupt is 2.5 years old.
However, there are individual differences in teething time, which is related to genetics, feeding, endocrine and other factors. Earlier babies will start teething at about 4 months, and later teeth will not start erupting until about 1 year old.
Generally speaking, only after the baby is 13 months old and the deciduous teeth have not erupted, can it be regarded as delayed eruption of deciduous teeth. At this time, it is necessary to go to the hospital for examination to find out the reason.
Some mothers believe that the baby's delay in teething is due to calcium deficiency, but in fact, the tooth germs of the deciduous teeth have been formed during the fetal period. After the baby is born, the deciduous teeth have been hidden under the gums. Calcium supplementation will not make the teeth earlier sprout. Moreover, normally fed babies are generally not deficient in calcium.
In short, the baby under 1 year old has not yet teethed, so mother does not need to be too anxious or busy with calcium supplementation, as long as the teething is within the normal time range (not more than 13 months), there is nothing special about it. The meaning of it, and there is no need to compare it with other babies.
Babies usually have all 20 baby teeth at around 2 and a half years old, and later at around 3 years old.
If the baby is more than 3 years old and still has 20 deciduous teeth, it is recommended to go to the hospital to take X-rays to check whether the deciduous teeth are congenitally missing.
What should I do if my baby's teeth are uncomfortable?
Some babies will have some uncomfortable symptoms during teething, such as: drooling, red and swollen gums, loss of appetite, irritability, etc. We can use the following methods to help babies relieve discomfort:
First of all, the baby's saliva will increase in the early stage of teething. It is necessary to wipe and wear a saliva towel in time to keep the baby's mouth dry to prevent the saliva from irritating the skin and causing redness and itching.
Secondly, baby teething is often accompanied by gum discomfort. Mom can use clean fingers, finger cots, wet towels, etc. to gently massage the baby's gums, soothing, and also help teething and cleaning of the mouth.
In addition, biting things can also massage the gums to relieve discomfort. You can prepare clean teethers (ice for better effect), cold spoons, molar sticks, etc. for the baby, so that the baby can chew with confidence.
Finally, some babies may have a slight increase in body temperature during teething, but usually it will not exceed 38°C, and physical cooling can be used.
And if the baby's body temperature continues to be higher than 38 ℃, it cannot simply be regarded as "teething fever". Other causes of diseases such as bacterial and viral infections should be considered, and medical treatment should be sought as soon as possible to avoid delaying the disease.
About dental care
At what age do babies start brushing their teeth? How to properly brush your teeth?
Many mothers believe that the baby's baby teeth need to be replaced sooner or later, so they don't need to brush their teeth when they are young, and then brush them when they change their permanent teeth.
This is actually a very wrong idea.
If the deciduous teeth are not properly protected, caries will also occur, causing a series of problems such as pain, decreased chewing ability, and asymmetric facial development, and may also affect the eruption of permanent teeth, causing caries to erupt when the permanent teeth erupt.
In order to maintain oral health and develop good brushing habits, authoritative organizations such as the Chinese Stomatological Association and the American Dental Association recommend that oral care should be started a few days after the baby is born.
For oral care in the pre-teeth stage, mothers can use a clean and soft gauze or silicone fingertips to gently wipe the baby's gums and tongue coating with water, and clean at least once a day to remove residual milk stains.
Once your baby's teeth are erupting, you will need to brush your teeth with a children's toothbrush and toothpaste.
In the early stage of teething, you can use a silicone teething toothbrush first, and continue to use gauze to wipe other gums and tongue coating. After multiple deciduous teeth have erupted, the mother should use a children's toothbrush to brush the baby's teeth twice a day for 2-3 minutes each time.
When brushing teeth, you can let the baby lie down or sit on the back. The older baby can also stand on the side and the back. The active baby can be "fixed" by two adults sitting opposite each other. The key is to be able to see the baby's teeth.
To brush teeth, make sure that all the teeth of the baby's upper and lower jaws are clean, especially the part near the gingival margin, which can be "modified Pasteur brushing method" (also called "horizontal flutter brushing method") or "circular brushing method".
"Improved Pasteur brushing method" is more thorough for cleaning plaque and food residues, while "circular arc brushing method" is more suitable for younger babies.
It is generally recommended that parents brush their baby's teeth until they are 6-8 years old. Even if the baby is able to brush his own teeth, they should check it again for him. Until the baby can complete some fine activities (such as: tying shoelaces, writing, etc.), let go and let the baby brush his teeth independently.
In addition, bacteria and food residues will remain between the teeth, and the toothbrush cannot completely clean the teeth, so when the baby has two adjacent teeth, it is necessary to use the special dental floss for children to clean the teeth to prevent adjacent caries. .
When using dental floss, insert the dental floss between your baby's teeth, and gently scrape the adjacent surface of one side of the tooth, and also scrape the bottom of the gum, and floss your baby at least once a day.
Correct use of dental floss will not damage the gums and teeth, and mothers do not have to worry about the gap between the baby's teeth becoming larger.
About preventing tooth decay
To prevent tooth decay, in addition to developing good oral hygiene and living and eating habits, there are several things that can be done well to protect your baby's teeth:
Visit the dentist regularly
According to the recommendations of the "Oral Health Guidelines for Chinese Residents", the baby should go to the hospital for an oral health check within 6 months after the first tooth erupts. Sexual oral hygiene guidance. After that, check your teeth every six months.
Regular visits to the dentist can detect potential problems in the baby's mouth in time, prevent and treat them early, the baby suffers less, and parents can save a lot of dental costs.
In addition, in daily life, parents can also open the baby's mouth from time to time to take a look. If you find that the baby's teeth have white spots, small black spots, pigmentation and other phenomena, you should seek medical examination as soon as possible.
Fluorine coating
Fluoride coating is a safe and effective way to prevent tooth decay. Professional dentists apply fluoride to the surface of baby's teeth, which can enhance the teeth's resistance to acid and anti-caries ability.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that after the first baby teeth erupt, topical fluoride can be applied every six months, generally every 3-6 months.
For babies under 6 years old, it is more recommended to use fluorine protective paint for fluoride coating. The process of applying fluoride is relatively simple, it only takes about 20 minutes, and the baby is painless.
Pit and fissure closure
Pit and fissure sealing is also a safe and painless method to prevent pit and fissure caries.
The pits and fissures on the occlusal surface of the baby's molars are not easy to clean and are prone to caries. After filling the pits and fissures with sealing materials, a protective barrier can be formed, thereby greatly reducing the possibility of tooth decay.
Pit and fissure sealing will not hurt or hurt the teeth. When the baby's teeth are fully erupted and there is no cavities, it is the best time to do the pit and fissure sealing.
Ideally, no matter it is a deciduous or permanent tooth, as long as the pit and fissure is deep, a pit and fissure seal should be done. It is usually performed when the deciduous molars erupt at the age of 3-5, the first permanent molars at the age of 6-8, and the second permanent molars at the age of 11-13.
