At our practice in Burbank, we want to help kids of all ages take care of their teeth. From cavity-preventing treatments to helping with X-rays and exams, we always do our best to help promote healthy smiles!
What Age Should Kids Have Their First Dental Visit?
It is recommended that a child have their first dental visit when they either reach six months of age or start to develop their first teeth. A quick dental visit can help track their oral health, clean their teeth, and make sure things are developing properly. Plus, you can get advice and more information on how to help your baby with their dental health. After that first visit, it is important for kids to see a dentist twice every year.
Schedule A Dental Exams & Checkup For Your Children In Burbank Illinois
A dental exam goes a long way in protecting your child’s teeth for decades to come. When a dentist examines your child’s teeth the can make sure that the teeth are healthy and address any issues as they arise. Every regular appointment is essential to protecting your child’s teeth. We provide many dental services for kids including:
- Checkups:Â A dental check-up is recommended for patients of every age, but they are especially important for children. At check-up our dentists can help track their oral health and make sure problems are diagnosed and treated if they arise.
- Cleanings: A regular cleaning twice a year is one of the best protections against dental decay and gum disease.
- Fillings: Cavities are sometimes are hard to avoid. Unforunately for many kids, they might get a few cavities in their lives. We provide dental fillings that remove the decayed part of the tooth, clean the remainder of the tooth, and then help fill the missing section.
- Fluoride Applications: Fluoride is known for how it strengthens bone material as well as teeth. Fluoride treatments are recommended for children and teens to help provide further protection from dental cavities.
- Sealants: Dental sealants are a thin covering that is placed over the molars. It is recommended for kids to get these right after their molars come-in. The natural divet in molars can be especially vulnerable to cavities, and this extra protection can help prevent them.
- Custom-Made Mouth Guards: If your child plays contact sports, or your child grinds their teeth in the middle of the night, mouth guards or grind guards can help. We can help take the measurements needed for custom guards.
- Emergency Dentistry: There are many types of dental emergencies. This includes knocked out or broken teeth, severe toothaches, or a loose/lost filling. If you or one of your children needs an emergency dentist, you can count our offices throughout Burbank and Chicago.
If your little one is afraid or anxious about doctors and dentists, we can help. We work really hard to make sure kids have a safe and welcoming environment at our office.
Burbank Illinois Pediatric Dental Practice
Our goal is to be great with kids. We are big believers that it is vital that kids not only receive the best oral care when they go to the dentist but that they also are encouraged and receive dental education so that they can develop healthy habits that last a lifetime. Many times when we talk to parents, we hear how bad dental visits have made their kids afraid of going to the dentist, or even in some case the parents themselves still remember that negative experience they had with a dentist. Those types of bad dental visits can really hurt people’s perspective about the importance of seeing a dentist twice a year, and the importance of oral care. That is why we work hard to be a practice where kids’ fears are alleviated. For example, if your child is a little anxious, our team will make sure to talk to them about what we are doing, why we are doing it, and help them feel encouraged. Trust and confidence are essential for children. If you are looking for a dentist that can help your kids not only receive high quality oral care, but also have positive dental experiences that help them in the future, we would love to schedule an appointment at our office in Burbank or one of our 10 offices throughout the Chicago area.
When Should My Child’s Teeth Come-In?
This is probably one of the most common questions parents have about their kids’ oral health. First and foremost, it is very common for kids to be ahead of or behind the “schedule”. Kids develop differently, and that includes their teeth. The best thing you can do for your kids is schedule dental visits. Because with X-rays and exams their dentist can tell you if there is ever any issues with how their oral health is progressing. That said here is a quick summary of the average times that teeth erupt.
When Do Baby Teeth Show-Up
- Central Incisors: The front teeth appear between 6-12 months. Commonly the bottom front teeth show up first between 6-10 months and the top teeth show up between 8-12 months.
- Lateral Incisors: The teeth that surround the front teeth can show up when children are 9-16 months old.
- First Molars: The first set of molars tend to show up when children are 13-19 months old.
- Canines: The pointed teeth that are between the incisors and the molars usually erupt between 16-23 months.
- Second Molars: The final set of baby teeth usually appear between 25-33 months.
A full set of baby teeth includes 20 teeth, ten on the top, and ten on the bottom. Most children have all these teeth before their third birthday.
When Do Adult Teeth Show-Up
Children start losing their baby teeth around age six. This process usually ends around age twelve.
- Central Incisors: These teeth fall out and are replace around ages 6-7
- Lateral Incisors: These teeth fall out next around ages 7-8.
- First Molars: These teeth are replaced by bicuspids and fall out when kids are 9-11 years old.
- Canines: These teeth fall out around ages 10-12.
- Second Molars: These teeth are also replaced by bicuspids and fall our around ages 10-12.
Asside from replacing those twenty teeth, there are additional sets of molars that come in. The first set of adult molars can actually come in before your child starts losing teeth, around ages 6-7. The second set will usually come in when your children are finishing up losing their teeth, around ages 11-13. There is a final set of molars known as wisdom teeth that erupt between ages 17-21, that are often unable to fit in the mouth and need to be extracted.
If you have any concerns about how your child’s teeth are coming in, please contact our team. We would be happy to provide additional information about oral health for children.