At almost 11 months old my son has 6 beautiful baby teeth. His lower central incisors came in first, the right side at 5 1/2 months and the left at 6 months. At 8 months his top central incisors came in, followed by his upper lateral incisors at 10 months. With the amount of drool he has been producing lately I believe the next couple teeth will make their appearance soon.
My son has been brushing his own teeth since he was 4 months old. He would sit in my bathroom at night watching me get ready for bed and would intently watch me brush my teeth. Since he was starting the 'everything in the mouth' stage I figured it would do no harm to give him his own toothbrush to chew on. This became part of his nightly routine, and has now learned to manipulate his toothbrush in a brushing motion. My son has developed a love for brushing his teeth to the point that when mine, or my husbands brush is within his reach it's going in his mouth.
Before my sons front teeth came in I noticed he had a bit of a lip tie. Out of curiosity I searched my husbands mouth to find that he also had a small lip tie. I have one too, which caused me to have a gap between my adult front teeth. (I fixed this gap with small rubber bands, but I had a gap none the less.)
My sons lip tie has caused no problems nursing, which was a blessing, but as his baby teeth started coming through I noticed a gap. Through research I have discovered that my sons lip tie is a level III, so it reaches to the lower part of his gum between his front teeth, but not back toward the roof of his mouth. I know that the likelihood that his adult teeth will come in with a gap is high since the gap he has now is caused by the lip tie. From my own experience though and considering I was able to fix my own gap at a young age, I see no reason to seek treatment for my son.
The treatment for lip ties varies by the severity. There is an option to have it surgically cut either with scissors or laser, but this is usually reserved for children that show difficulty breastfeeding, eating or speaking.
On a positive note, it has been theorized that children whose baby teeth come in with gaps and spaces will have more room for their adult teeth when they finally emerge. Not to mention it appears as though 40% of children have gaps between their teeth when they first come in- so it's perfectly normal!
The big thing is to teach kids oral hygiene at a young age- this includes flossing as soon as the first molars arrive. Toothpaste is a not necessary, and fluoride is a big no-no for children under the age of two. Most importantly is to make a dentist appointment for your child sometime in the first year so the dentist can spot any problems early on!
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