ABOUT BABY TEETH
Nature provides two sets of teeth in a
lifetime: the 20 deciduous (baby) teeth, and the 32 permanent (second) teeth.
This is no extravagance, for the jaws of an infant are hardly large enough to
accommodate the teeth needed later. Make no mistake about the importance of
proper care of the first teeth. Even though they are to be replaced, if they
become badly diseased and fall out, the permanent teeth may not come into place
properly.
A child's first set of teeth begins to form before birth,
and their proper formation and structure are influenced by the diet of the
mother. She need follow no special diet for her baby to have good teeth; the
balanced, nutritious diet prescribed by her physician for her general health
will provide for good teeth in her child. Usually, by the age of two and a half
years, the child's complete set of baby teeth will have erupted. Shedding will
usually begin when the child is six or seven years old. At that age, the first
permanent teeth, the first molars, also appear.
Proper nourishment is
required for healthy development of both the first and second teeth; important,
too, are cleanliness and dental super- vision and, when necessary, dental
treatment.
PICKING THE PREVENTIVE DENTIST
As we have indicated, dentistry today
is in a new era-of prevention rather than mere mechanical repair. As in
medicine, there are tremendous differences among men in the dental profession.
They differ in personality, and your family needs a dentist whose personality
is attractive to you and with whom you feel compatible.
You need a skilled dentist, of course. But you also need
one, in our opinion, whose interests are along the lines of prevention rather
than merely of good treatment. There are still some otherwise excellent
dentists-men capable of remarkable repair work-who have not quite caught up
with the modern trend of dentistry. But increasingly there are men dedicated to
the idea that total mouth care is vital, that what has to be corrected must be
corrected and, going beyond, patients must be helped to avoid need for
correction.
There may well be such a man available to you even if you live in a
small community. Your family doctor or your pediatrician will help you find
him. It is important in terms of dental health-and, in the end, it is economic
in terms of family budget-to make regular visits to a dentist practicing
prevention.
And it is important to introduce your child to him at an
early age, even as young as two years.
At that point, he can check the child's
dental development; he can, if necessary, make corrections to prevent trouble; he
can provide detailed instructions for you in the care of the child's mouth and
in how to introduce the child gradually to caring properly for his mouth.
Chances are that no treatment will be needed and the child's first-and very
important-experience with the dentist will be a pleasant one, which will stand
him in good stead all his life.
