Baby & Toddler Dental Health Development

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Dr. David Hill and today we're talking about baby and toddler dental health development. A lot of parents come in to me around four months of age and ask if their child is teething. At four months of age a lot of children will start chewing on their hands, drooling, gnawing and acting for all the world like they have teeth coming in. Every now and then we do see teeth emerge at that age, but it's pretty rare. Usually we start to see the first teeth around age six to seven months. There is however a very wide variation in when the teeth actually emerge. It's not uncommon at all to see a child who's nine months old or even occasionally twelve months old who still hasn't had their first tooth erupt. They almost always come, but if you're really concerned, you can always check with your child's doctor. You will see some signs of teething. But we don't tend to associate a high fever over a hundred two degrees, or severe or prolonged diarrhea with teething. If your child really seems sick, I 'd be very reluctant to say it's the teeth. Your child's doctor should look for some other cause of the illness. You can start brushing or cleaning the teeth as soon as they emerge. You can use a simple wet wash cloth or a soft toothbrush made especially for babies. They even make little rubber brushes that go on your finger. Although be careful when you're using them because those little teeth can be sharp and you're going to know if you get bitten. You don't want to use a toothpaste that has fluoride in it for a child who can swallow. There's such a thing as too much fluoride. On the other hand, you want to make sure that the water source for your baby does have fluoride in it, starting at age six months. The right amount of fluoride is something your doctor can help you out with. Most city water supplies are already fluoridated. If you're buying water, you might consider buying nursery water or infants water that has had fluoride added. Dentists are happy to start seeing children starting at age twelve months at least if they're pediatric dentists. They advise the first exam and cleaning at that time. It's not usually a terribly involved visit, but it does help get everybody in the habit and the teeth do start collecting plaque as soon as they emerge. So remember for your baby and toddler, the emergence of teeth is highly variable and can occur and time usually between the age four months of age and twelve months of age. Don't worry if it seems a little bit slow. Don't attribute a real significant illness to teething. That's probably not the answer. Start cleaning your child's teeth as soon as they're there. But make sure the child gets the right amount of fluoride in his water and not too much by swallowing fluoridated toothpaste. Talking about your child's dental health development, I am Dr. David Hill."