As a new mom, you may not have been told much about how to care for you baby’s teeth. Some of the questions we have been asked include when baby teeth come in and when they fall out. In this video, Dr. Kuiper educates viewers on some of the most asked questions regarding baby teeth.

Baby teeth typically start coming in between 6-12 months. Some babies get them as early as 3 months and some don’t get their first teeth until they’re 18 months old. At the end of the day, most kids get their first teeth in the 6-12 month range. If your child is outside that range, it’s nothing to worry about! We recommend starting to brush your child’s teeth as soon as they start coming in. Teeth develop in phases. Baby teeth will come in up until the child is about 2 years old and they will have 20 teeth. For parents who are adding up tooth fairy costs, Dr. Kuiper doesn’t recommend giving out too much because 20 teeth add up very quickly!

The baby teeth will eventually come out on their own. The first phase includes the front teeth coming out between the ages of 6-8. Girls typically lose their teeth a little earlier than boys. The second phase of losing baby teeth is around 11-13. If for some reason a tooth comes out earlier than expected due to being knocked out or taken out due to present decay, Dr. Kuiper recommends doing a space maintainer or retainer to keep the space available for the permanent tooth to come in. If the child loses the tooth and nothing is done about it, the other teeth will collapse into the permanent space, similar to books on a bookshelf. When the adult tooth tries to come in, it gets trapped under the other teeth and almost guarantees the need for braces down the road.

If you’d like to learn more about this topic, click here to visit our Pediatric Dentistry page! If you are concerned about your child potentially needing braces or have questions about your baby’s teeth, please give us a call and we would be more than happy to answer your questions.

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