Dr. Greg Pyle: Dental Visits and Your Baby’s First Year

Baby teeth are very important and need proper care. Photo by: story blocksBaby teeth are very important and need proper care. Photo by: story blocks

By: Greg Pyle, DDS—

This is the second in a series of articles about ensuring your baby’s proper growth and development.

Once your baby has turned 6 months old, you can expect to see baby teeth erupting. The first teeth to erupt (come in) are usually the lower front teeth.  However, it’s not that uncommon for other teeth to erupt first. Baby teeth will continue to erupt for the next 2-3 years. Remember, the baby teeth are very important and need proper care.  The baby teeth set a “template” for adult teeth, and are very important in the health and function of the adult teeth.

We recommend the baby’s first dental visit to come no later than their 1st birthday, and sooner if you suspect any issues.  At that visit, we will go over proper care for your child’s teeth, and set up an easy format to ensure that you can maintain great oral health.

That said, this visit isn’t just about teeth. As we spoke in our earlier article (see Muncie Journal January 2020), setting the stage for proper growth and development is of great importance.  As soon as your baby begins getting teeth, solid foods need to be incorporated in his/her diet.  This will help muscle development in the jaws.  Proper muscle development in turn leads to proper jaw development in the majority of children.  We will also assess your child’s swallowing technique.  Proper swallowing is essential in proper muscle and bone development.

So, why are we so focused on proper growth and development? We now know that children who don’t grow and develop properly, who don’t swallow properly, generally don’t breathe as well, especially during sleep.  Below are links to Dr. Karen Bronuck’s YouTube interviews with some great information as to why it’s so important for your children to sleep properly.

https://youtu.be/vRXkic9ftQU

https://youtu.be/nx-Y6FfaqE4

In our next segment, we’ll break down all the red flags for sleep disturbed breathing, and what action needs to be taken to ensure a healthy pathway for your child!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information contact:

University Avenue Dental
800 W. University Ave
Muncie, IN 47303
Phone: 765-288-6121
http://www.drgregpyle.com

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Dr. Greg Pyle: Growth, Development, and Your Child