How Many Baby Teeth Do You Lose as a Child

Dental Health and Your Child's Teeth

Medically Reviewed past Evan Frisbee, DMD on Oct 31, 2021

Baby Teeth

A child'south rima oris has 20 initial teeth, besides called master teeth, baby teeth, or deciduous teeth:

4 second molars
4 first molars
4 cuspids (also called canine teeth or eyeteeth)
Iv lateral incisors
Four primal incisors

For each set of four teeth, two teeth are in the upper arch (1 on each side of the mouth) and two are in the lower arch (one on each side of the mouth).

Permanent Teeth

The adult mouth has 32 permanent teeth:

Four tertiary molars (also called wisdom teeth)
Four second molars (also called 12-twelvemonth molars)
4 offset molars (also called 6-year molars)
4 2nd bicuspids (likewise called 2d premolars)
Four outset bicuspids (also chosen start premolars)
Four cuspids (also chosen canine teeth or eyeteeth)
Four lateral incisors
4 central incisors

Teeth Functions

Your teeth are used for:

Bitter and tearing. The key incisors and lateral incisors are mostly used for biting and cutting, and canine teeth are primarily used for fierce nutrient.

Grinding and crushing. The premolars, molars, and wisdom teeth are generally used for chewing and grinding food.

How Teeth Are Structured

Each tooth has three principal parts: crown, cervix, and root.

The crown is the visible role of the tooth. A protective layer called enamel covers the crown.
The cervix is the surface area of the tooth between the crown and the root.
The root is the portion of the tooth that extends through the gum and into the bone of the jaw.

The following chart shows when your kid's primary teeth (also called baby teeth or deciduous teeth) should erupt and shed. Eruption times vary from child to child.

As seen from the chart, the first teeth begin to break through the gums at about 6 months of age. Usually, the first ii teeth to erupt are the two bottom central incisors (the two lesser front teeth). Next, the peak four front teeth emerge. Afterwards that, other teeth slowly begin to fill in, usually in pairs -- one each side of the upper or lower jaw -- until all 20 teeth (10 in the upper jaw and x in the lower jaw) have come up in by the time the kid is two ½ to three years old. The complete set of primary teeth is in the mouth from the historic period of 2 ½ to 3 years of age to 6 to 7 years of age.

Primary Teeth Development Chart
Upper Teeth	When tooth emerges	When tooth falls out
Primal incisor	viii to 12 months	half dozen to vii years
Lateral incisor	9 to 13 months	seven to eight years
Canine (cuspid)	xvi to 22 months	ten to 12 years
First molar	13 to 19 months	9 to 11 years
2d molar	25 to 33 months	x to 12 years

Lower Teeth
Second molar	23 to 31 months	10 to 12 years
First molar	xiv to eighteen months	nine to 11 years
Canine (cuspid)	17 to 23 months	nine to 12 years
Lateral incisor	ten to 16 months	7 to 8 years
Primal incisor	6 to 10 months	vi to 7 years

An overview of children's teeth

Other master tooth eruption facts:

A full general rule of thumb is that for every six months of life, approximately four teeth will erupt.
Girls generally precede boys in molar eruption.
Lower teeth usually erupt before upper teeth.
Teeth in both jaws commonly erupt in pairs -- one on the right and i on the left.
Main teeth are smaller in size and whiter in color than the permanent teeth that will follow.
By the time a child is ii to 3 years of age, all primary teeth should have erupted.

Shortly after age 4, the jaw and facial bones of the child begin to grow, creating spaces between the chief teeth. This is a perfectly natural growth process that provides the necessary space for the larger permanent teeth to emerge. Betwixt the ages of 6 and 12, a mixture of both principal teeth and permanent teeth reside in the rima oris.

Why Is It Important to Care for Infant Teeth?

While it'due south true that baby teeth are only in the rima oris a brusk period of time, they play a vital role. Babe teeth:

Reserve space for their permanent counterparts
Give the confront its normal appearance.
Assistance in the evolution of clear speech.
Help attain good diet (missing or decayed teeth make it difficult to chew, causing children to reject foods)
Help give a healthy get-go to the permanent teeth (decay and infection in baby teeth tin can cause impairment to the permanent teeth developing beneath them)

To understand the problems that decaying baby teeth can cause in permanent teeth, see Oral Health Bug in Children.

Children should usually be seen by a dentist by the age of one or within 6 months subsequently their beginning tooth comes in.

What Happens at the First Dental Visit?

The offset dental visit is usually short and involves very little treatment. This visit gives your kid a take a chance to see the dentist in a nonthreatening and friendly way. Some dentists may ask the parent to sit in the dental chair and concord their child during the exam. Or you might wait in the reception expanse during role of the visit so that your dentist can build a relationship with your kid.

During the exam, your dentist will bank check all of your child's teeth for disuse, examine their seize with teeth, and look for any potential issues with the gums, jaw, and oral tissues. If necessary, the dentist or hygienist will clean teeth and appraise the need for fluoride. They will as well brainwash parents about oral health care basics for children, talk over dental developmental bug, and answer whatever questions.

Topics your dentist may talk over with you might include:

Good oral hygiene practices for your child's teeth and gums and crenel prevention
Fluoride needs
Oral habits (thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, lip sucking)
Developmental milestones
Teething
Proper nutrition
Schedule of dental checkups. Many dentists similar to meet children every six months to build upwardly the child's comfort and confidence level in visiting the dentist, to monitor the evolution of the teeth, and promptly treat any developing problems.

You will be asked to complete medical and health data forms concerning the child during the first visit. Come up prepared with the necessary information.

What's the Deviation Between a Pediatric Dentist and a Regular Dentist?

A pediatric dentist has at least 2 more years of training beyond dental schoolhouse. The preparation focuses on management and treatment of a child's developing teeth, child behavior, physical growth and development, and the special needs of children'south dentistry. Although either type of dentist can handle your child's oral health care needs, a pediatric dentist, their staff, and even the function décor are all geared to care for children and to put them at ease. If your kid has special needs, think about getting care from a pediatric dentist. Ask your dentist or your child's doctor what they recommend.

When Should Children Become Their Outset Dental 10-Ray?

There are no rules for when to start dental Ten-rays. Some children who may be at college run a risk for dental bug (for example, those prone to baby bottle tooth disuse or those with cleft lip/palate) should have X-rays taken earlier than others. Usually, most children will take had X-rays taken by the historic period of 5 or 6. As children brainstorm to go their adult teeth around the historic period of half dozen, 10-rays play an important role in helping your dentist to meet if all of the adult teeth are growing in the jaw, to wait for bite problems, and to observe out if teeth are clean and healthy.

Nutrition and Your Child's Teeth

What your kid eats affects their teeth. Too many carbohydrates, saccharide (for example, from cake, cookies, candies, milk, and other sugary foods and beverages), and starches (such as pretzels and potato chips) can cause tooth decay. How long carbohydrates remain on the teeth is the main culprit backside tooth disuse.

The all-time thing you can practise every bit a parent is to teach your child to make healthy food choices. Here are some tips:

Try fruits and vegetables. Offer fruits and vegetables as a snack instead of carbohydrates. Fruits and vegetables with a loftier book of water, such as pears, melons, celery, and cucumbers, are all-time. Limit banana and raisin consumption, as these have full-bodied carbohydrate, or if you serve these fruits, try to brush your kid's teeth right away after they are eaten.
Cull cheese. Serve cheese with lunch or as a snack, especially cheddar, Monterey Jack, Swiss, and other aged cheeses, which aid to trigger the flow of saliva. Saliva helps launder nutrient particles away from teeth.
Avoid sticky, chewy foods. Raisins, stale figs, granola confined, oatmeal or peanut butter cookies, jelly beans, caramel, honey, molasses, and syrup stick to teeth, making it hard for saliva to wash the carbohydrate away. If your kid consumes these types of products, have them castor their teeth right after eating.
Serve sugary treats with meals, not as snacks. If y'all programme to give your child any sweets, give them as desserts simply afterwards the meal. There's usually more than saliva in the oral fissure effectually mealtime, making information technology easier to wash nutrient away from teeth. The mealtime potable also helps launder away food particles on teeth.
Get your children in the addiction of eating as few snacks equally possible. How oft your kid snacks is far more of import than the how much they eat. Time between meals allows saliva to wash away nutrient particles that leaner would otherwise feast on. Frequent snacking, without brushing right after, provides constant fuel to feed bacteria, which leads to plaque buildup and tooth decay. Effort to limit snacks equally much as possible and to one or two a day.
Avoid sugary foods that linger on the teeth. Lollipops, hard candies, coughing drops, and mints all contribute to molar decay because they continuously coat the teeth with sugar.
Buy foods that are carbohydrate-free or unsweetened.
Never put your baby to bed with a bottle of milk, formula, juice, or soda.
Offer your child manifestly water instead of juice or soda. Juices, sodas, and fifty-fifty milk contain sugar. Water does not harm the teeth and aids in washing away whatsoever nutrient particles that may be clinging to teeth.
Include adept sources of calcium in your child'due south nutrition to build strong teeth. Good sources include milk, broccoli, and yogurt.

Other Tips for Your Child's Teeth

If your child chews glue, opt for xylitol-sweetened or carbohydrate-costless mucilage. Xylitol can reduce the amount of bacteria in the oral cavity, and the chewing action helps heave the flow of saliva.
Castor with fluoride toothpastes. The best way to preclude tooth disuse is to apply a toothpaste with fluoride every day. Electric current recommendations are to use fluoride toothpaste for all ages, but utilize a very modest amount for younger children. The fluoride seeps inside the tooth to reverse early on decay. Castor your child's teeth at least twice a twenty-four hour period and later each meal or snack if possible. If brushing between meals is non possible, at least rinse the mouth with h2o several times.
Floss your child's teeth daily. Practice it at to the lowest degree in one case a day to help remove particles betwixt teeth and below the gum line.
Rinse with fluoride mouthwash. A fluoride mouthwash can help forbid tooth decay. Utilize just later on 6 years old.
Brush your child's teeth later giving their medicine. Medicines such equally coughing syrups accept carbohydrate that bacteria in the mouth use to make acids. These acids can eat away at the enamel.

Easing Your Child'southward Fear of the Dentist

Parents and dentists each play an of import role in making a child's first dental appointment a positive experience. Whatsoever anxiety that parents prove volition exist picked up by the child. And an unfriendly dentist can crusade unnecessary fright in the child.

Parents' Office in the Dental Visit

To help the dental visit go more smoothly:

Tell your child about the visits, but limit the details. Answer any questions with simple, to-the-indicate answers. Let the dentist answer more than complex or detailed questions. Dentists are trained to depict things to children in a nonthreatening fashion and in easy-to-empathise linguistic communication.
Avoid the utilise of words like "injure," "shot," or "painful."
Don't tell your kid about an unpleasant dental experience that you've had.
Stress to your child how important information technology is to maintain healthy teeth and gums and that the dentist is a friendly doctor whose job information technology is to help do this.
Don't hope a reward for going to the dentist.

Go on in mind that it is perfectly normal for children to be fearful. Some are afraid of being separated from their parents; others are afraid of the unknown; others are afraid of existence injured. A dentist who treats children volition know how to cope with your child's fears and anxiety and put them at ease.

Dentist'due south Function

Children may express fear in a number of ways. Some may cry; others may throw temper tantrums. Dentists oft will use techniques to ease children'south fears, including:

The dentist should talk in a friendly voice that could become firmer if necessary.
Uncomplicated words should be used to describe the process. Sometimes, dentists will demonstrate the process on a doll or another person before doing it on the child.
Many times, dentists will tell stories or appoint the child in conversation every bit a ways of drawing attending away from the procedure.
Dentists oft will use body language, such as a simple smile or frown, to reinforce positive behavior and discourage negative behavior. Praise and compliments should be given to reinforce good beliefs.
The dentist may use sedation to help the kid relax and be more comfortable, if necessary. The two well-nigh common types of sedation that might be used in children are nitrous oxide ("laughing gas") or an oral sedative (such equally Valium).

If your dentist does not accept steps to ease your child'southward fears, consider finding another dentist. It is important that your child has a positive experience at the dentist during their early on years so that they exercise not develop an ongoing fear of oral health intendance providers.

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Source: https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/dental-health-your-childs-teeth