Last week, we introduced National Children’s Dental Health Month and gave an overview of children’s dental care at Lawson Family Dentistry and how to encourage proper dental habits for your child at home. Today, Urbandale family dentist Dr. Jessica Lawson wants to discuss the development sequence of your child and what obstacles you may run into along the way.
Children’s Dental Development
Your child’s dental development begins before he or she is even born. Dental development begins about three weeks into your pregnancy, with the cusps of the primary teeth appearing at six weeks, the hard tissues (enamel and dentin) forming by the fourth month, the enamel crowns materializing fully by the eighth month, and the beginnings of permanent teeth forming shortly before or at birth.
For most newborn babies, the developing teeth are still embedded in the gums, but it’s not uncommon for a baby to be born with teeth or for the teeth to erupt shortly after birth. For babies born without erupted teeth, the front teeth usually begin to break through the gum tissue between four and eight months of age. Once they reach the six-month mark, most children welcome four new teeth every four months, and all of the teeth within the gums are generally fully formed by twelve to fifteen months of age. Most children have all twenty baby teeth by the age of two and a half or three.
As your baby’s teeth erupt, don’t be surprised if they come in angled and then eventually straighten out. Children generally start losing their baby teeth at the age of eight, and most lose all of their baby teeth by age thirteen. Because the permanent teeth are still developing at this age, Dr. Lawson recommends that children aren’t given tetracycline antibiotics until after eight years of age. Additionally, new evidence suggests that amoxicillin administered to children under the age of three years for ear infections can have a negative effect on the enamel development of the permanent six-year molars.
Between the ages of two and a half and six years old—before the baby teeth fall out—the permanent teeth are developing within the jaw. As the baby teeth fall out, the permanent teeth take their place, with twenty-eight permanent teeth erupting by age fourteen, and the wisdom teeth coming in by age 21 or not at all.
Common Problems with Children’s Dental Development
As with any aspect of growth, there are some growing pains associated with dental development. The following symptoms and problems are common with your child’s development over the years.
- Teething: As the eruption of the primary teeth through the gums, your baby may experience discomfort and pain and the following symptoms: restlessness, irritability, loss of appetite, poor sleep habits, excessive crying, flushed cheeks, a slight fever, congestion, excessive drooling, red or swollen gums, thumb sucking, etc. To offer relief to your baby during teething, massage his or her gums with or without ice; give him or her a cold teeth ring; encourage him or her to chew on a cold, wet washcloth; and administer baby Tylenol or Oragel when necessary.
- Developmental Delay: Dental development delay can occur for several reasons during all development stages and can be caused by the following: hereditary factors, chronic malnutrition, developmental disorders, hyperdontia (extra teeth), Down syndrome, radiation or chemotherapy, cysts or tumors, and the absence of lateral incisors or wisdom teeth.
As you can see, there’s a lot to cover about children’s dental development, so stay tuned for more information about potential developmental complications and caring for your child’s teeth. To reserve a dental checkup and cleaning appointment for your little one, contact Lawson Family Dentistry, located in Urbandale, Iowa, at (515) 278-4366.
