What to expect when your child’s permanent teeth appear

The arrival of permanent teeth is a major milestone for children – and their parents – but what should you expect when your child starts to get their adult teeth?

It takes a relatively short time for children to acquire their baby teeth – and with the night-time waking and general upset this causes that is something most parents should be grateful for.

When it comes to losing those baby teeth it is a slightly different story with teeth taking years to come through.

Losing baby teeth

Most children start to lose their baby teeth aged between four and six years old. As a general rule these are lost in the same order that they arrived – usually the bottom two front teeth (incisors) are the first to go.

From here the top two front teeth usually work their way out. As well as replacing baby teeth, children will also grow permanent teeth that have not had a predecessor. The first of these to appear are the ‘six-year molars’, which usually appear after the loss of the bottom two front teeth.

Here on in the teeth continue to develop with most children expected to have 28 permanent teeth by the age of 13, with wisdom teeth expected between the ages of 17 and 21 years old.

Among these permanent teeth will be another set of new molars, known as the ’12-year molars’.

Taking care of permanent teeth

While it is important to take care of baby teeth to ensure good wellbeing and to avoid unnecessary pain and dental treatment, there are no second chances with adult teeth and it is imperative that children develop and maintain good dental hygiene habits.

Get them into a good dental routine at a young age and the habit should last – and help to protect those permanent teeth.

In particular when new molars arrive make sure that your child becomes used to brushing further back in their mouth to allow them to properly brush the new tooth, which of course is in an area they would not be used to brushing.

Thankfully the pain associated with the arrival of baby teeth is not usually seen with the emergence of permanent teeth, however, teeth erupting can still cause discomfort. Molars in particular can cause headaches in some patients. Treat general pain with paracetamol but should you have any concerns, or if the pain is prolonged or serious, then get in touch with your dentist.

Parents may also be concerned about how straight their child’s permanent teeth appear to be growing. While many new teeth may appear to be growing at an angle these do generally settle down and straighten out as the remaining teeth come through.

Likewise teeth that appear to be growing behind baby teeth should find a natural remedy as the baby teeth will usually eventually drop out to leave just the permanent tooth that has grown behind.

Should you have any concerns about your child’s teeth please contact Bhandal Dental Surgery.