A child's first tooth can erupt easily or with pain, but it is always a joyful event in the family. True, new worries come with him - parents care whether their child's other milk teeth are erupting by age, whether they grow correctly and why sometimes they darken? We have collected in one article the answers of the authoritative doctor Evgeny Komarovsky to the most common parental questions about children's teeth. Most of this information was included in the doctor's articles, in his video tutorials.
When do teeth start to cut?
The timing of the appearance of the first teeth in a child is strictly individual, emphasizes Evgeny Komarovsky. There are some averaged norms, but deviation from them is not considered a pathology. The first teeth, according to generally accepted medical standards, are cut in 6-7 months. This process can take up to 2.5 years.
The two lower incisors usually appear first - the two upper incisors. Then the upper and lower lateral incisors appear. The first molars appear by one year, the canines - at one and a half years. The second indigenous - at 2 years old.
The vast majority of two-year-olds already have 20 teeth in their mouths.
The timing of the eruption of the first teeth, what to give the child to gnaw, how to smear the gums - Dr. Komarovsky will tell in the next video.
Many parents, according to Komarovsky, are worried about late teething. You shouldn't panic and cheat yourself, the doctor says. Teeth are a very individual process, for someone the first incisor can come out even at 4 months, while someone has none even for 8 months. The order of eruption can also differ significantly from the existing general standards, and in this, according to Komarovsky, there is no pathology.
What medications can stimulate teething?
There are no such medicines and folk remedies. Teeth are a genetically determined factor, and therefore it is impossible to accelerate or slow it down. Everything happens when the time comes for this particular child. Medicine today cannot influence this in any way. Therefore, parents should not worry if, for example, a child of 9-10 months does not have a single tooth. If, at the same time, he does not have kidney diseases, problems with metabolism, then this is also a variant of the norm. You don't need to stimulate anything.
How can symptoms be relieved?
In some children, the symptoms of the upcoming first tooth appear long before the eruption itself, in others the symptoms practically do not appear. The most frequent "companions" of this process are fever, diarrhea during teething, profuse salivation, painful swelling and redness in the gum area, which causes the baby a lot of suffering.
Komarovsky does not believe that it is necessary to purposefully help with medicines every baby who has teething. However, you should not refuse to help the baby, provided that the baby is feeling very bad.
Evgeny Olegovich recommends knocking down the high temperature with Children's Paracetamol. The doctor reminds that this remedy will not only help bring down the fever, but will also be able to numb the gums, the child will feel much better for a while.
Increased salivation is more associated with hormonal processes in the child's body than directly with the appearance of teeth. Therefore, neither parents nor doctors can influence the amount of saliva. Komarovsky emphasizes that often drooling appears long before the first tooth, at 3 months, but time passes, and teeth do not appear.
Liquid stool, which also sometimes happens during the appearance of teeth, does not need special treatment, since it is usually short-term, not protracted. One or two or three episodes of diarrhea - and the tooth has already erupted.
However, if the diarrhea is intense, frequent and lasts more than two days, you need to see a doctor to find its true cause. It is likely that the teeth have nothing to do with it.
What to do with itchy gums is clear even to inexperienced parents. There are teethers - special rings and toys that are made of quality materials with a burgundy structure. Such a toy, taken by a child in his mouth, will immediately significantly alleviate his condition, since the child will be able to scratch what itches.
Dental gels and gum ointments should not be used unless unnecessary.
Vivid symptoms inherent in the process of teething, much less often than manufacturers of gels and sprays for the oral cavity imagine. Many mothers generally notice the first tooth only when it has already erupted and begins to interfere with breastfeeding.
How to feed a teething baby?
Often, mothers note a decrease in the baby's appetite during the eruption of the first incisors. Everything is simple here, says Komarovsky, sucking causes some discomfort, so the baby refuses to suck. But even in this situation, you should not force feed the toddler, it will not bring any benefit.
Evgeny Komarovsky believes that nothing terrible will happen if the child misses 2-3 feedings. A hungry toddler who can no longer tolerate will take a breast or a bottle when he is completely hungry, and will definitely eat.
What happens to immunity during teething?
Of course, this process has a direct impact on the child's body. A lot of saliva is produced, but it is almost devoid of important protective properties, due to this, the immunity is somewhat weakened. Therefore, ARVI or flu may well join all the "joys" of the first teeth, and then it will not be easy for a one-year-old "sufferer".
The risks of contracting viral infections will be minimized, provided that the child lives in favorable conditions, and the parents do not dry out the air in the nursery, do not overheat it, and carefully monitor the humidity and temperature. The norms are as follows - the temperature is from 18 to 20 degrees, the air humidity is from 50 to 70%.
What to do if baby teeth turn black?
Many parents, with someone's easy filing, support a rather strange opinion that milk teeth turn black and dark because of children's intestinal dysbiosis. Black plaque can appear, according to Komarovsky, only for two groups of reasons:
- Metabolic disorders, and, first of all, phosphorus, calcium and vitamin D.
- A number of other reasons may be associated with insufficient saliva functions. If the baby breathes in too dry air, his saliva dries up and cannot effectively resist bacteria entering the oral cavity. Hence the dark plaque on the teeth.
Dysbacteriosis is in no way connected with the condition of the child's teeth, emphasizes Komarovsky. If your teeth darken, you do not need to feed the child with probiotics, but lead you to a good pediatric dentist so that he can prescribe an adequate treatment for the situation.
Why does a child “grind” his teeth at night?
Most parents believe that teeth grinding in a dream is a clear sign of helminthiasis in a baby. Komarovsky does not undertake to dispute this statement, although he emphasizes that so far medicine has not been able to prove whether there is a connection between teeth grinding and worms. In other words, worms are found both in babies squeaking with teeth and in those who do not.
The exact cause of the teeth squeak at night is unknown, but all doctors, including Komarovsky, agree that this is not a disease, but a condition that tends to pass without a trace on its own. There is a theory that this is a manifestation of the residual animal reflex, with the help of which tetrapods and toothy ones sharpen their teeth in such a way. But this, too, has not been proven by science.
Teeth grinding at night is usually associated with two unpleasant moments, says Komarovsky:
- Few people have enough nerves to listen to this sound, since grinding teeth is on the leading positions in the list of the most difficult sound stimuli for humans.
- If the jaws creak, the child can damage the teeth themselves. Chips, cracks may occur, and this will require treatment with a dentist.
When should you start brushing children's teeth?
Yevgeny Komarovsky always answers this question in the same way - from 1.5-2 years.
If the baby already understands the word "must", you can explain to him why and how we brush our teeth. If he does not understand yet, you need to show by your adult example.
Children tend to imitate, and therefore, in most cases, there is no problem with accustoming to proper care. Many parents are stopped by the fact that the baby does not know how to rinse his mouth and spit out water. Let him swallow, says Komarovsky, if he likes it. But for such a child, you should not buy children's toothpastes, but ordinary tooth powder rich in calcium. And let him swallow it for health.
However, Evgeny Komarovsky warns moms and dads against getting used to brushing their teeth with toothpastes too early, even for children and even those on the tubes of which the coveted word "Hypoallergenic" is written. It is better not to disturb the microflora of the oral cavity for up to two years, the famous pediatrician believes, and no one is immune from allergies.
Should milk teeth be treated?
Evgeny Komarovsky says that this must be done. If the child has problems with the condition of the teeth, then one extraction will not do. If a child prematurely loses his milk teeth, then this can be negative in the bite. And then permanent teeth will no longer solve this problem.
Any inflammatory process in the oral cavity is quite dangerous for the entire child's body, because from the mouth, pathogenic bacteria can easily penetrate into the esophagus, and into the stomach, and anywhere. This is another good reason for sensible parents to treat baby teeth.
Modern treatment is not like that of twenty years ago. It is not painful, almost painful. In addition, medicine offers more and more new methods of preserving the health of children's teeth - silvering for children whose caries spreads quite quickly, fluoridation of the teeth.
These methods, says Komarovsky, can be treated well, or badly, but they are there, and if there are problems, the dentist will certainly announce the entire list of procedures that can be done to the child. The decision will only be up to the parents.
How to maintain health in disadvantaged regions?
There are places on the map of Russia where dentists always have a lot of work. This is mainly due to the quality and composition of the drinking water. For example, in Primorye, teeth are treated from early childhood due to the catastrophic lack of fluoride in the water. And in some areas of the Moscow region there is too much iron in the water, this also noticeably affects the health of the teeth.
Parents from regions with a fluoride deficiency (the most common situation) Komarovsky advises to introduce fish broth into the children's diet. You can cook soup on it and give it at least twice a week.
Twice a year, in spring and autumn, Evgeny Olegovich recommends giving the child vitamin and mineral complexes that contain fluoride.
