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TEETH FROM BIRTH TO ADULTHOOD
Dental health oral, pediatric oral health, prevention oral health
A baby starts getting teeth from the age of six months. The child gets
twenty temporary teeth called primary teeth or baby teeth or deciduous
teeth. It consists of four second molars, four first molars, four canine
or eye teeth, four lateral incisors and four central incisors. Out of
the four teeth two is located on the upper jaw one on each side and two
in the lower jaw one on each side. The teeth grow in different stages
in life till they reach the age of five. This milk teeth begins to fall
when they reach the age of eight or nine and then the permanent teeth
begins to come.
The adults have thirty two permanent teeth with sixteen in the upper jaw
and sixteen in the lower jaw. All the primary tooth falls in stages and
the permanent teeth comes one by one. The adults have four central incisors,
four lateral incisors, four canine or eye teeth, four first premolars,
four second premolars, four first molars, four second molars, four third
molars or the wisdom teeth.
Each tooth has its own function. Generally, the tooth used for biting
and cutting is the central incisors and lateral incisors; while the canine
teeth is vital for tearing the food material. The central incisors and
the lateral incisors are primarily used for biting and cutting and canine
teeth are primarily used for tearing food. The premolars, molars and wisdom
teeth are primarily used for chewing and grinding food.
The parts of the teeth contains three parts namely the crown, the neck
and the root.
The crown is the part which we see and feel and lies above the gum tissue.
The crown is covered by a thin layer of enamel which protects the teeth
from being sensitive. If the enamel goes away we will feel uneasy if any
food particle touches the tooth.
The neck is the area of the tooth that lies between the crown and the
root. The root is the portion of the tooth that extends through the gum
and into the bone of the jaw.
The child usually gets its first tooth between three to sixteen months
which is hereditary. Incisors are the first teeth to erupt, either the
top or the bottom ones come first. The child undergoes pain and irritation
during this period till the tooth erupts out of the gums.
Then the teeth start coming one by one till the entire twenty primary
or milk teeth come out by the time the child is three years old.
The new permanent teeth start to come out as the milk teeth falls. Care
should be taken at this stage by brushing the teeth with a soft brush
It is better to use children’s tooth paste at this stage since they are
harmless even if the swallow while goggling since they might not know
to spit it out.
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