Timing of Tooth Loss and Eruption

When doing my initial exam on kids, especially those in the 9-12 year range, I often find  that parents are surprised to hear that their children still have baby teeth left. 

This is understandable since, at this age, most of the front permanent teeth have erupted and because the remaining baby teeth can look like permanent teeth.

With exception of the wisdom teeth, most people are born with all their teeth, baby and permanent. 

By age 3 all the baby teeth have come in.  At about 6 years of age the first permanent teeth start coming in – the 1^st permanent molars in the back behind all the baby teeth and then the two bottom front teeth, pushing out the baby teeth above them.

Ages 6-9 is often that awkward stage when the front baby teeth are starting to fall out and the BIG permanent teeth are starting to replace them.  It is a couple years of gummy smiles, gaps and “monster-looking” teeth.   

Once kids get past this phase, however, with all the permanent front teeth in, they tend to go through what I like to call a little “holding pattern” where several years might pass by before any teeth get loose again.

Then, around ages 11-13 there is another big phase of baby teeth falling out and permanent ones coming in.  A total of 12 baby teeth -3 teeth on each side, top and bottom between the front teeth and the 1^st permanent molar – are involved in this process.  So it often seems like a new tooth is coming out and another one coming in almost every month!

Most surprising to parents is that often it is the upper canine teeth that are some of the last permanent teeth to come in.  This is helpful to know in understanding why these big teeth are often “blocked” out of the arch.

Check out the tooth eruption guide below and you’ll be a little more in the know!

Dental Trivia for the New Year!

Yes, just in time for those New Year’s Eve parties… 10 fun, amazing and quirky facts about teeth!  Go ahead, be the life of the party!

 

1)  You are born with ALL your teeth, - baby and adult teeth!  (except for the wisdom teeth…)  That’s 20 baby teeth and 28 adult teeth!


2)  The mammal that has the most teeth is the long snouted spinner dolphin with 252 teeth!

3)  The muscles of your jaws allow you to create a force as great as 200lbs of pressure on your back molars.

4)  In Vermont, it is illegal for women to wear false teeth without the written permission of their husband!

5)  An Elephant's tooth can weigh over 6 pounds. That's heavier than a big jug of milk!

6)  A tooth that has been knocked out starts to die within 15 minutes, but if you put it in milk or hold it in your mouth it will survive longer.  And then, of course, contact a dentist ASAP!

7)  50's heart throb James Dean had no front teeth! He wore a bridge.

8)  Certain cheeses including Aged Cheddar, Swiss and Monterey Jack, have been found to protect teeth from decay.

9)  A sneeze zooms past your teeth and out of your mouth at over 600 mph!

10)  The stone faced farmer in the well known painting “American Gothic” by Grant Wood, was actually the artist’s dentist!

Rockin' colored braces!

Adults may want braces to be invisible, but believe it or not, kids are excited to show off their braces.  Their first question usually is: “can I have colored braces?” And the answer to that is: DEFINITELY!!!  Rainbow, screaming pink, school colors… whatever floats their boat!

So now are they really getting colored braces?  No, not really.  It’s the little rubber bands that hold the wire into the braces that come in different colors.  We call these “ties”.  At Baldwin Orthodontics, every time someone comes in to have their braces “tightened” or “adjusted”, the old ties are taken off and new ones put on.  So, you really could change your colors to go along with your mood, the seasons, to show your school / team spirit or just to just see the reaction you get from friends and family!

The beginning of fall is the perfect time to start testing out all the possible color combinations.  With the start of school and all the upcoming holidays… it's fun to be creative and let your personality show!  At Baldwin Orthodontics, we have 24 colors for you to choose from, ranging from the bright screaming pink, orange blast and extreme green at one end, to the subtle lavendar, dusky blue and plum crazy at the other end, with all the basics in between!   

We love to see what people will pick, so come on in and we’ll help you rock those colored braces!

I just got my braces off, now retainers? Really?? Why?

Because it takes some time for your teeth to become stable in their new positions in the jaw bone, it is critical that you wear your retainers as recommended immediately following removal of the braces.

At Baldwin Orthodontics, we recommend full time retainer wear for at least 6 months after your braces are removed.  That means wearing your retainer all day AND night, and taking it out only for meals and brushing your teeth.  Yes, it’s a bother to have something in your mouth all the time especially now that you have “appliance free” teeth, but while it may take years to achieve a beautiful smile, it only takes a couple weeks of not wearing your retainer to

‘un-do’ those years of work.  The good news is, it does get easier!  After full time retainer wear for the first 6 months, most people can reduce retainer wear to just at night. And once you’ve been out of your braces for a year and have worn your retainer well during that time, most can get away with wearing their retainer only a couple nights a week. 

It’s important to know that shifting teeth is part of the natural process of aging.  So, while it used to be thought that you could wear a retainer for just a few years after having braces and then be fine, research shows that teeth will continue to move unless prevented by regular wear of some type of retainer.  The longer one leaves a retainer out, the more likely teeth will shift. The tightness some feel when putting in a retainer after not having worn it for several days is evidence that the teeth have shifted slightly. Unfortunately, many youngsters and adults find themselves back in braces because they didn't wear their retainers.  As a result, most orthodontists have taken on the motto of: “Wear your retainers for as long as you want to keep your teeth straight!”

There are a variety of different types of retainers, from removable to bonded, clear plastic to colorful acrylic and wire.  Dr. Baldwin can help you determine which will be the best fit for you, your lifestyle and for the successful maintenance of your new smile!