samtsai.com

This tooth fairy story is hilarious. See what else you’ll get for the lost tooth!
View this humorous tooth fairy video clip.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark to:

What is the eruption sequence of baby teeth? Which tooth comes out first? Which tooth comes after? Many parents simply aren’t aware of it and yet it is very important to recognize any abnormal eruption pattern. There are several causes where a tooth will fail to erupt, such as congenital missing teeth, impacted teeth, teeth erupting in wrong directions, etc.

In addition, by recognizing the eruption of the very first tooth in the infant, parents can adopt certain preventive measures that minimize the transmission of dental cavities from themselves to their babies. Did I mention cavities can be transferred to other people? You bet! Dental caries is the most common bacterial infection in childhood, more common than any other childhood diseases or infections such as asthma, hay fever, strep throat, flu, you name it. Talk to your dentist about how to reduce the vertical transmission (parent-child transmission) and hence the risk of future cavities in your kids. If your parents have lots of cavities and so do you, blame your parents?!

The following table provides an estimated time frame for each baby tooth to come out. The time is in month.

The above time frames are only estimates. It varies among individuals. Therefore, it’s more important to recognize the eruption sequence rather than the exact eruption time. That is, central incisor > lateral incisor > 1st molar > canine > 2nd molar.

Cheat-sheet

As a general rule, lower teeth erupts before their upper counterparts. For example, lower incisors erupt before upper incisors.

The first tooth to comes out is lower central incisor at the age of 6 months.
First molar comes out during the First year of age.
Second molar comes out during the Second year of age.
By age of 3, all 20 deciduous teeth should be present.

With full eruption, babies have 20 teeth, whereas adults have 32 teeth.

First Dental Visit for Kid

When should a baby start seeing a dentist?

It’s recommended by American Academy of Pediatrics that every child should begin to receive oral health risk assessment by the age of 6 months (ie, when the first tooth starts to come out) from a pediatrician or a qualified pediatric health care professional. [Pediatrics 2003; 111:1113-1116]

To send this article, click “Email This Article” below.

Bookmark to:

Bruxism is nonfunctional clenching or grinding of the teeth. It is a destructive habit that may result in tooth wear. Although research on bruxism is extensive, its etiology remains debatable. The literature suggests that bruxism is correlated with both experienced and anticipated life stress. The purpose of this report is to describe 2 cases of severe bruxism in children of similar age with different life histories and to discuss the factors that could have triggered this parafunctional condition.

Source: Canadian Dental Association

An interesting case-study article to read.

Bookmark to:

Whoa, that’s effective. I wonder if dentists will use this kind of tactics in pedo patient.
View this humorous Mother of The Year video clip..

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark to:

The New York Times and the Registered Dental Hygienist have reported new evidence supporting the effectiveness of fluoride varnish in preventing early childhood caries, based on the findings of a study published in the Journal of Dental Research¹.

The two-year study from the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) was a randomized controlled trial that evaluated caries incidence in 376 caries-free children from low-income, primarily Hispanic or Chinese families in the San Francisco area. The children ranged in age from 6 months to 3½ years, and all were required to have at least four erupted maxillary incisors. Each child participating in the study received oral health counseling from their parents or caregivers, and 202 children remained in the study for the duration. The study found that children receiving no fluoride varnish were more than twice as likely to have dental caries as those who had annual varnish treatments, and nearly four times as likely to have cavities than children who received fluoride varnish at six-month intervals.

Fluoride varnish is a topical agent containing a high concentration of fluoride (5 percent sodium fluoride (NaF) or 22,600 ppm of fluoride) in a resin or synthetic base. Professionally applied fluoride varnishes were first developed in the 1960s, and have been in use for over 30 years.

Source: ADA.org

¹Fluoride Varnish Efficacy in Preventing Early Childhood Caries. Journal of Dental Research 85(2):172-176, 2006.

Fluoride varnishes, comonly known as Duraflor, may be useful in very young children as cavity preventative agents. Varnish is painted directly onto teeth without the need of a dry field, unlike pit & fissure sealant which requires thorough drying through the use of rubber dam, something kids may not want. Thus fluoride varnish can be a good alternative for sealant, especially for a very young child where the placement of a rubber dam in the mouth may be difficult. However, varnish only lasts hours in contrast to sealant which can last for months.

Currently FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approves the use of fluoride varnish as cavity liners and for the treatment of hypersensitive teeth, but not for caries prevention.

Bookmark to: