Eruption of Teeth

“Pediatric Dentistry is defined as an age-defined specialty that provides both primary and comprehensive preventive and therapeutic oral health care for infants and children through adolescence, including those with special health care needs.”
— American Dental Association definition

Sets of Teeth

Humans in their life time get two sets of teeth with a more or less definite chronology of appearance in the dental arch. Based on their sequence of eruption, the first det of teeth to erupt are called the Milk teeth or Baby teeth or Primary Dentition or Deciduous Dentition. The teeth that later replace these teeth are called as the Successor teeth or the Permanent Dentition. Because humans have two sets of teeth in their entire lifetime it is known as Diphyodont Dentition.

Primary Teeth or Baby Teeth or Milk Teeth

The first set of teeth in a child’s life comprises of the Primary teeth or the Baby teeth. These are commonly referred to as the Milk teeth. There are a total of 20 deciduous teeth. These are white in colour and because of their refractive index being the same as that of Milk, these teeth are called as Milk teeth.

Eruption of the first teeth

The appearance of infant’s first tooth is regarded by most parents as one of a series of significant developmental landmarks. It is a milestone for every child that parents await eagerly for. But the period associated with the eruption of the deciduous teeth in infants can be difficult and distressing for both the child and respective parents. The relationship between the eruption of the deciduous teeth and the general health of infants has been documented for over 5,000 years. The Latin term ‘Dentio diffiilies’ was coined due to the importance of teething as a diagnosis. The process of emergence of teeth from within the tooth socket and gums into the oral cavity is commonly referred to as Teething.

Chronology of Teeth

The first primary tooth appears during infancy at around 6 months of age. The various primary teeth continue to be in different stages of eruption throughout the next 3 years. By three years of age a child would have developed almost all the primary teeth. In the following image one can see the various primary teeth and their age of eruption.

The permanent dentition have a total of 32 teeth. The first permanent tooth erupts when the child is 6 YEARS OLD and all the 32 teeth are completed erupted by the age of 18 to 22. The last tooth to arrive in the mouth are the 3rd molars, which erupt at the age of 18 years to 22 years and hence they are referreed to as the Wisdom teeth. In the following image one can see the various permanent teeth and their age of eruption.

Eruption of teeth is an important milestone in your child's life!
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