Child/Baby teeth are in all 20 in numbers and of which 10 are on each of the arch of the jaws and further they are classified as 2 Central Incisors, 2 Lateral Incisors 1 Cuspid or Canine and 2 are grinders of which the first grinder is smaller one and appears like the 1st permanent premolar whereas the second grinder resembles the first permanent grinder in each of the arches.
These deciduous teeth have a very thin margin of the enamel may be little thicker than the thickness that of our nails and quite a similar or may be little more of dentin the live portion of the pulp being the greatest in volume and quantity.This very reason makes these teeth very easily prone to teeth decay and infection if they are not brushed twice a day and maintained properly.
The roots of these teeth are also quite divergent in appearance so as to protect and nourish the permanent teeth that are forming just below and under their support.However the nature has placed these roots such a way that the infection set in the crown or the pulp can not damage the permanent teeth and their development, unless they have been damaged as in trauma cases or while in accidents where a direct hit can displace the regular formation of the tissues beneath and thus delays the eruption as the completion of the tooth formation is affected.Such cases show the delays in eruption of the permanent teeth that are to come at the place and even may show the displacement from the normal positioning.
The deciduous teeth must be cleaned daily from the day one of their eruption as these have tendency to decay very fast and eventual loss which may lead to consequences which may be hard to face.Even cleaning the teeth simply with only wet brush with softer bristles is sufficient to remove the food particles which are easily removable and the tooth paste is only recommended if the child is good at spitting and rinsing off the lather of the toothpaste that contains Fluoride as an ingredient as the ingestion of the same can cause bones to become more brittle and prone to fractures easily.
The deciduous teeth should never be recommended for extraction as these act as a space maintainer for the permanent teeth and if they are present while the successor is getting erupted the later comes in proper place and occupies the correct position so as to have the perfect contact area with the neighboring tooth, and as a reason these should be very care fully taken care of so that such a consequences are not met with.
The jaws being smaller in size and shape to accommodate the lesser number of teeth the deciduous teeth are all well placed and very nice to appear also however when they start falling so as to give way for the permanent teeth that these start appear as if like in Ugly Duckling stage where these appear out of arch crooked as well as malplaced which causes enough worries for the parents for the later stage appearance of the child! However, these are not the cause of worries as these tend to regularize themselves once the permanent teeth start erupting and jaws start developing in three dimensions and if the parents show the history of crooked teeth in themselves or the members of the family directly related to the child gives the history of such conditions one needs to be worried.
To take care of the deciduous teeth one must take following care:
1. Allow the child to eat home made foods and ample amount of water to drink, and the child must be taught to eat well, brush the teeth well and rinse well, preferably the parents must do and guide the child to do the same as they are doing and thus they should not only supervise but demonstrate also. The child while brushing the teeth must be made to stand in front of the mirror and then do the brushing or the parents must make the child stand on the stool or table for proper visibility in the child's mouth while brushing.
2. Avoid eating between the two major meals and that way the less amount of food will remain in the teeth also the day time or early morning brushing is important but the night time brushing is more of importance for the simple reason that the food eaten tends to remain in the teeth and the spaces for 12 long hours or the time the child sleeps as long and as a result the decay starts and spreads faster in night than at day time as during the day time the child has habit of changing the food frequently and hence the food does not remain in the spaces for much of a longer time and that is why generally the decay has easy time to spread during the night time.
3. The fluoride containing tooth pastes are a real boon to prevent the decay however they must be carefully used as they must not be ingested or they are likely to cause brittleness of the bone rendering them very easily prone to fractures.
4. Up to the age of 6 years the child must be helped to brushing of the teeth and then later the child will take up the method of brushing and will do so properly life long as the habit reminds him the way and the technique.
5. At night the child must eat homemade food well, have a glass of warm milk and must brush the teeth before going to bed.
"HEALTHY TEETH HAPPY LIFE"
DR PRAMATHESH PANCHAL,
MUMBAI-INDIA.
