Cute Smiles 4 Kids San Antonio Children's Dentist Baby Teeth

We Provide Kids Dental Care – Learn When Their Baby Teeth Will Come In

kids-dental-care-300x200We provide kids’ dental care for children from birth through twenty years old.  We only work with kids, making our practice unique to the area. This allows us to focus on what makes them different and adjust our treatment methods to their needs instead of trying to take care of children and adults with the same approach to dental care.  Our young patients enjoy their visits because we make it both comfortable and fun.
During regular appointments, we clean teeth and examine them while teaching our young patients and their parents, how to care for teeth at home. Preventative care is extremely important for keeping teeth healthy and cavity free.  Baby teeth have an important role to play in developing early speech patterns and holding a place for adult teeth to come in.  This makes good oral hygiene essential.

While providing kids’ dental care one of the most common questions that we get is when teeth are supposed to come in.  Typically, baby teeth will start coming in around six to eight months and keep going until your child has all of their teeth.  Many parents are concerned that their child may not be developing as fast as they did or as soon as they should.  In most cases, even if your child’s teeth come in later than normal, they will eventually come in.  Like most stages in physical development, kids end up in the same place even if it takes one child longer to get there.

Your kids should have 20 baby teeth in total.  Here are some basic guidelines for when they may come in:

  • 8 to 13 months – Upper central and lateral incisors
  • 10 to 16 months – Lower lateral incisors
  • 13 to 19 months – First set of upper molars
  • 14 to 18 months – First set of lower molars
  • 13 to 31 months – Second set of lower molars
  • 16 to 22 months – Upper canines
  • 17 to 23 months – Lower canines
  • 25 to 33 months – Second set of upper molars

The time line will vary for each child, but this is a general idea of what you can expect.  Teething can be uncomfortable so when a tooth is trying to break through you may want to provide them with pain relief or topical medication to numb the area.  You can also give them a teething ring or a cold washrag to chew on as the cold provides a natural pain relief.  By the time your child is three they should have all of their baby teeth in.

Baby teeth will eventually fall out by the age of seven.  Some children start to lose them as soon as five so this can vary as well.  The key is to make sure that they receive ongoing kid dental care so that they don’t fall out too early. They need to remain in place for as long as possible in order to hold a spot for their adult teeth to come in.  By scheduling regular teeth cleanings and dental exams, along with brushing and flossing at home, you can help to keep their baby teeth healthy so they can do their job.