In a person’s life, just like how life is divided into phases, so are our teeth. From having no teeth to milk teeth which would eventually fall off for us to get our permanent teeth. All of this has its phase in our life. When we are born, we have very tiny teeth which help us in nibbling food and most of the time, we want to nibble on something or the other. That is known as the teething period. Once our teething period ends, we start noticing our milk teeth and for some years we function with them. However, one by one they start falling off, giving us a window in our mouth while we wait for our permanent set of teeth.
Milk teeth have various terminologies for themselves, such as – primary teeth, baby teeth, temporary teeth and deciduous teeth. These type of teeth is usually found in both humans and majority of the mammals. They are developed during the embryonic stage and become prominent after the birth of a child till 6 months of age. As they are also known as temporary teeth, they eventually fall off making way for the permanent set of teeth to develop.
The milk teeth fall off due to the pressure being put by the permanent teeth growing underneath them. Due to the pressure, the milk teeth become loose and gradually fall off. Timing is an important factor, because if the timing is not correct then the tooth might fall before the permanent tooth has developed which would cause permanent deformity in the structure of the teeth.
FORMATION
Milk teeth usually start forming during the embryonic stage. They start developing at the sixth week of tooth development as the dental lamina which is epithelial tissue. Dental lamina acts as evidence of tooth development for milk teeth. After the passing of eight weeks in the embryo, ten buds which will later on form the primary teeth are formed on the upper and lower arches.
These baby teeth will continue to form until they do not erupt in the mouth and there are a total of twenty teeth. The eruption process starts at the age of six months and will continue for two or three years.
The milk teeth usually comprise central incisors, lateral incisors, canines, first molars and second molars. The first teeth which are usually seen in the mouth are the central incisors and the last are the second molars.
TIMELINE
The milk teeth in a baby usually emerge in the following pattern-
- The central incisors i.e., the four front teeth are the first ones to emerge. The four front teeth are divided in two and two in the upper and lower jaw. They start appearing in about six months after birth.
- After the central incisors, comes the two lateral incisors. By the time the child reaches fifteen months, the child would have developed a full set of eight incisors.
- Soon after this, the child starts developing his or her molars which are positioned in such a way that they are a space away from the incisors for the canines to grow in between. The molars generally are developed by the age of nineteen months.
- By the age of twenty-three months, the child starts developing canine.
- Finally and in the end, the child develops the second molars at the age of twenty-seven months completing the 20 milk teeth.
Once the entire set of milk teeth have been developed, then slowly and steadily the jaws of the child start growing and makes room for the permanent teeth to grow and develop. The permanent teeth start to appear at around six years of age. The milk teeth start falling off from the age of 6 years and the entire set of permanent teeth appear by 12 years of age.
FUNCTION
The milk teeth help in maintain the arch length of the jaw and the bone, while the permanent teeth replacements are developing. They act as a guide for the permanent teeth and pave a pathway for them to erupt. The muscles of the jaw and the formation of the jaw majorly depend on the milk teeth as it maintain proper spacing for permanent teeth.
TOOTH DECAY AND TREATMENT
Tooth decay is one of the most common chronic diseases among children, even during their milk teeth phase. This disease involves bacterial infection which demineralizes and further damages the tooth tissues. To avoid such situations, your first visit to the dentist should be at the age of 6 months when the child starts developing his or her milk teeth. Regular check-ups with the doctor will be quite helpful in such tricky situations.
CARE
Milk teeth also need to be taken care of despite it being temporary as it guides the permanent teeth. Tooth decay can occur at a very early stage and is referred to as baby bottle tooth decay or as the nursing mouth syndrome. This is found in those children who are often exposed to sugary substances for a very long period.
You should maintain the proper oral hygiene of your child during their milk teeth as well as permanent teeth phase. You should make sure that the child is brushed or brushes twice a day plus should brush if they eat or drink something sweet. They should not be allowed to sleep with a bottle that contains sweetened liquid or formula as it would cause harm.
About Aesthetica Dental Implant Clinic
Aesthetica is a dental speciality clinic that primarily focuses on bringing advanced implantology and digital dentistry for its patients. Our aim is to provide specialised and hygienic treatments to the patients in the most soothing yet professional environment.
Headquartered in Kolkata, our clinic is staffed with the best dentists in Kolkata. Aesthetica dental implant clinic has embraced digital dentistry for treating their patients such as CAD-CAM and 3D printing technology. Our sterilization procedures are monitored by the University of Louisville, Kentucky, the USA which ensures that we have high standards of hygiene. The dental clinic is headed by India’s topmost oral, Maxillofacial Surgeon who is also known as the best dental implant surgeon and cosmetic dental surgeon – Dr. Kamlesh Kothari.