As the baby grows, the calcium from the baby’s diet started depositing and hardening around the buds before emerging out from the gums. This process of coming out of primary teeth is known as an Eruption.

At the age of six months, the baby’s primary or deciduous teeth emerge out. The first teeth that emerge out are the incisors located in the front and center of the jaws. Then appear first molars, canines followed by second molars. The primary teeth emerge until the age of three years. A total of 20 primary teeth emerge out in a human child. Dentists recommend taking your child to a dental clinic at this age so that they can check whether the teeth are okay and the child gets a habit of going to the dental clinic.

Primary teeth are the temporary teeth. They just act like placeholders for permanent or secondary teeth. The roots of the primary teeth begin to dissolve and make room for secondary teeth.

After the fall off of primary teeth, permanent teeth come out. Here 6 molars come first followed by incisors and canines and then cusped teeth, second molars and third molars. A total of 32 permanent teeth are there.

Now to keep your child’s teeth strong and healthy, teach your child to have some healthy food choices. Add fresh fruits and vegetables, salad, milk, cheese, yogurt in their daily diet. Avoid sticky, sugary candies, too many sweets, juices, and soda water. Teach them to brush twice daily.

After all the precautions, if your ward’s pearly white is in ruin, take an appointment to the dentist as soon as possible.

Every child likes chocolates, pastries, cakes, jellies that all are of sugar. They are unaware of the fact what sugar will do to their teeth because it’s not the sugar itself that does the damage, but rather the chain of events that takes place after eating the sugary items.

Dr. Sachin Mittal gives detailed information on how sugar affects your teeth and how you can prevent tooth decay.

The mouth is a battle line where different bacteria attacks on the teeth. The harmful bacteria produce acid whenever they encounter sugar. This acidic medium removes minerals from the shiny, protective, outer layer of your tooth called Tooth enamel. This process of removing minerals is called as Demineralization.

But surprisingly, remineralization occurs naturally by your saliva. It helps in restoring minerals like calcium and phosphate maintains the strength of teeth. But, the repeated cycle of acid attacks causes a great mineral loss in the enamel. This weakens and destroys the enamel, forming a cavity.

If a cavity is not treated on time, it can lead to inner damage to tissue and can cause pain and loss in teeth also.

Tooth enamel can be remineralized by following these simple habits:

1. Lower down the sugary content because many studies have found that the frequent consumption of sweets and sugary drinks leads to cavities.

2. Avoid Sticky foods like candies, jellies, and lollipops. They give plenty of time to harmful bacteria for digesting the sugar and causing an acid attack.

3. Brushing at least twice per day is an important step in preventing cavities and tooth decay.

4. Chewing sugar-free gum may also prevent plaque build-up by stimulating saliva production and remineralization.

5. Use toothpaste containing fluoride for remineralization.

6. Visit the dentist every six months for keeping your teeth and gums healthy.

Habits that are associated with poor oral health and that can cause other general problems are:

1. Tobacco and smoking can cause oral and other cancers, periodontal disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, respiratory diseases.

2. Improper Diet can be a reason for dental caries, coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancers, obesity

3.  Alcohol consumption can lead to oral and other cancers, cardiovascular disease, liver cirrhosis, trauma

4. Stress can cause periodontal diseases and heart attacks

To protect these conditions to occur, saliva helps in fighting the bacteria and viruses. For disease-causing organisms, saliva is the best defensive tool. It has antibodies that attack the viral and bacterial pathogens.

Certain medications or treatments that reduce the saliva in your mouth can reduce your mouth’s normal defenses, allowing these bacteria to enter your bloodstream.

If one has a healthy immune system, the presence of oral bacteria in the bloodstream causes no problems. Good immune system quickly dispenses with them, preventing infection.

Thus, always spend time in improving the level of oral health as it is an investment for your overall health.

Disclaimer: The content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for any competent medical opinion. Always consult a specialist for more information. Jugaadin.com does not claim responsibility for this information.

The common dental emergencies and their first aid can be:

1.      Tooth Injury: if any tooth injury occurs due to falling off or an accident, teeth may get loose. In this case, immediately consult the dentist. In the mean time, rinse the mouth with warm water and apply a cold compress to the outside of your mouth to stop the bleeding.

2.      Knocked out teeth: If any teeth get knocked out, always hold it with the crown part. Never pick it up by roots. Clean it to remove the dirt. Try to put it back into the socket, if it is possible. Otherwise, keep it in a container of milk to retain the moisture. Immediately call the dentist as knocked out teeth should be placed back within 1 hour minimally.

3.      Soft-tissue injuries: Injuries to the tongue, cheeks, gums, and lips, can result in bleeding. To control the bleeding, Rinse mouth with a salt-water solution, cover the site with moistened piece of gauze or tea bag and Hold in place for 15 to 20 minutes, one can apply cold compress to the outside of the mouth or cheek in the affected area for 5 to 10 minutes, If then also bleeding doesn’t stop, see your dentist right away or go to a hospital emergency room.

4. Abscess: when infections occur around the root of a tooth or in the space between the teeth and gums termed as Abscesses. They can damage tissue and surrounding teeth. See your dentist as soon as possible if you discover a pimple-like swelling on your gum. In the meantime, to ease the pain and try rinsing your mouth with a mild salt water solution several times a day.

5. Swelling: Swelling is one of the more common dental emergencies, it’s never a good sign. It indicates you have a serious dental infection. If you are experiencing swelling, do not wait. Contact your dentist right away.

These are some of the dental emergencies that can occur to anyone. To avoid these, one should take extra care of their mouth and visit the dentist regularly for cleanings.

• At dental cleaning time, professional will check your gums. He will measure the depth of the spaces between your teeth and gums. If the spaces are shallow, gums are healthy but with gum disease, the spaces may become deeper.
• Remove plaque and prevent cavities: The main reason behind the tooth decay is plaque, if not taken care of can lead to cavities. At dental checkups, this plaque is removed with special tools to prevent the cavities.

• Dentist will help in removing stains that discolor the teeth by drinking tea, coffee and alcohol; hence gives us a shining and brighter smile.
• Getting a cleaning regularly will keep your breath fresh and odor free.
• Regular dental cleanings will help in maintaining overall health of the person. During routine oral exam, early detection of many diseases can be done and preventive measures can be taken.

You should have a regular dental visit at least twice a year or as recommended by your dental professional. This will give you good oral hygiene, prevent loose teeth and gum diseases.

To get all these advantages, contact your dentist today.

Some basic procedures that include in cosmetic dentistry are:

• Cosmetic Teeth Whitening: to whiten the stained or discolored teeth, teeth whitening is the facility which is also called as ‘Teeth Bleaching’. People who have discolored or teeth having darker shade are supposed to undergo this technique. Not everyone’s teeth can be bleached. It is necessary to ask the dentist prior to undergo whitening.

• Cosmetic Dental Implants: It’s a technique in which metal device made out of titanium is placed in the jawbone to replace the missing teeth. It act as a support system which helps in anchoring artificial tooth.
• Teeth Reshaping: when dentist remove or fill the enamel, to change the shape of the tooth is called as Reshaping. It is used to alter the shape, size and color of the teeth.

• Cosmetic Tooth Bonding: it is a process in which dental like material is applied to tooth’s surface which is sculpted according to other tooth shape and later on get hardened and polished. This process is used in case of cracked and broken teeth to repair them.
• Dental Veneers: These are porcelain laminates that are bonded to the teeth. They are custom made. These are used to treat crooked tooth, discolored teeth, chipped teeth or even to cover spaces in between the teeth.

• Dental Crowns: Crowns, also called as caps, are tailor made to fit over the whole tooth. They are usually made out of acrylic or porcelain that has been fused to metal to withstand biting pressure. Crowns can be used in cosmetic dentistry to treat teeth that are poorly shaped, badly decayed, broken, chipped, have had large fillings, or to cover spaces in between teeth.

What you have to change and how it will be changed, it is better to discuss with your dentist. He will prescribe you the best cosmetic dental procedure according to your needs. Consult the cosmetic dentist only, not every dentist is capable of doing these procedures.