How can we help you?
The entire team at Little Smiles Dentistry believes in making sure going to the dentist is a fun and relaxing experience for both parents and children. We enjoy taking our time with every child who sees us to ensure they learn proper oral health care. We also want to make sure their parents’ questions are answered so they can help set up their children for a lifetime of good oral health.
There are some frequent questions we received, and we have chosen a few of those to answer below. If you have other questions about pediatric dentistry that are not included here, we invite you to give us a call or bring them along to your child’s appointment so we can discuss them with you in person.
Your child’s dental health is important to us, and we want them to see visiting the dentist in a positive light. We also strive to provide you with the best information possible so you can make the best decisions regarding examinations and treatments for your children.
Our caring team of professionals can’t wait to meet you. We look forward to assisting you with all of your questions regarding your child’s oral health.
Children's Dentistry
Many infants and young children find sucking on fingers, thumbs, pacifiers, and other items to be soothing, and it is a completely natural reflex. These children often find a sense of security from it and it can help them fall asleep.
Thumb- and finger-sucking that continues once permanent teeth have come in can cause problems. The level of dental issues it might cause depends on the intensity of the sucking. Children who vigorously suck may have more dental issues than those who are more passive about having a thumb or finger in their mouth.
In any case, it’s best that children stop the habit before the permanent front teeth start to come in. Usually children from ages two to four will cease the thumb-sucking on their own. Those who don’t usually will succumb to peer pressure once they start grade school.
There are those children who find it more difficult to break the habit. Here are some suggestions that might help:
- Use positive reinforcement. Don’t chastise children for thumb sucking. Praise them when they are not doing it instead. Reward them during particularly difficult times that they haven’t engaged in the habit.
- Comfort children who might be doing it because they feel anxious or insecure.
If these gentle approaches don’t do the trick, you can have your child wear a sock at bedtime or put a bandage on the thumb to remind them of the habit.
If the habit persists, we might recommend a mouth appliance.
Many people wonder about the importance of baby teeth because they will be lost during childhood and replaced by permanent teeth. But it is imperative to keep these first teeth healthy.
Baby teeth, which are also called primary teeth, are significant for a number of reasons:
- They enable a child to chew and eat properly.
- They provide spacing and guidance for the permanent teeth to erupt properly.
- They permit development of the bones and muscles of the jaw.
- They impact speech development.
- They help provide an attractive appearance, which in turn helps your child gain self-confidence.
Although they begin forming before birth, your child’s first teeth will usually erupt sometime between the ages of six months and one year. The lower central incisors are the first to come in.
Most children will have all 20 of their primary teeth by the age of three. Although the front teeth will be replaced by permanent teeth around the age of six or seven, children will keep their back teeth until they reach adolescence—sometime between 10 and 13 years of age.