Each February, the American Dental Association (ADA) sponsors National Children's Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of good oral health. Dr. Joe W. Pearson supports the ADA in their efforts.Whether you're a member of the dental team, a teacher, or a parent, teaching kids how to develop good habits at an early age will encourage good dental health over a lifetime. As dental professionals at Pearson Orthodontics, we also encourage parents to begin at an early age scheduling regular dental visits to give your child the best start possible.
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When parents visit Pearson Orthodontics, it is not uncommon for parents to worry if their child’s baby teeth do not fall out on time. Infants rollover, sit, walk, and talk at different stages of their development. The same is true when your child is losing baby teeth. There are some developmental issues which require professional attention, but in general, what should parents expect when their kids start losing baby teeth?
- The first baby teeth are usually lost at about six years of age. Some kids may lose theirs as early as five or as late as seven, which is still considered normal.
- The average child will have lost eight baby teeth by age eight; four front teeth on top and four front teeth on the bottom.
- Between 8-10 you will normally not see much loss or eruption of teeth. During this two-year “break” interceptive orthodontic treatment may be indicated. This is why the American Association of Orthodontics recommends that all children be evaluated by age 7. This allows Dr. Joe Pearson to determine if your child’s teeth and jaws are developing correctly and intervene with recommendations or treatment, if indicated.
- Around ten years of age the remaining teeth begin to fall out. The average adolescent loses all their baby teeth before 13. Girls often lose their teeth faster than the boys and sometimes as early as 11. The 12-year or 2nd molars start to make their appearance during this time.
- Third molars will begin to develop around age 16 and more often than not, need to be removed due to lack of space in the dental arch to accommodate the teeth. X-rays at this age are recommended to determine if there is enough room for third molars before the roots fully develop to make extraction easier if required.
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Lollipops are a cavity on a stick and soda is pure sugar in a can. Candy and soda cause tooth decay. You’ve been taught this since grade school. This is not news, is it? Well, what about the fact that sports drinks ruin your teeth, too? Heard that one before?
Dr. Joe Pearson and the team at Pearson Orthodontics want to make sure you understand sports drinks can damage healthy teeth. Actually, “erode” is more like the term, especially around the brackets while wearing braces. These sort of drinks erode your teeth by “demineralization,” or reducing the minerals in the outer tooth enamel and also the dentin (“dentin” is a yellowish, calcified tissue underneath the tooth enamel). It doesn’t affect the enamel underneath the braces covered by the brackets.
Dental erosion is common. It happens when you lose tooth structure since acids dissolve enamel and dentin. When your teeth are exposed to an acidic substance like a sports drink, soda, or candy, dental erosion is not far behind.
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At Pearson Orthodontics some parents ask us… “Why are so many kids and adults wearing braces today?”
Orthodontic Studies report 70 percent of the US population could benefit from having their teeth and jaws realigned with orthodontic treatment. Ancient ancestors had perfect teeth and bites, as evidenced by fossil records. Then, about 10,000 years ago, malocclusions (bad bites) seem to have become more prevalent. Why? Human growth patterns saw teeth and jaws fail to accommodate teeth and jaw development as different ethnic and genetic backgrounds began to live together and populate.
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