[Click! Health] To Grow Up with Well-Aligned Teeth... Care Must Start from Baby Teeth

Children often do not express pain or discomfort well due to fear of dental treatment, which frequently leads to missing the appropriate time for treatment. To help children grow up with straight teeth, proper care should begin as soon as their baby teeth start to come in. Timely dental check-ups and treatments from infancy are essential, and parents' meticulous guidance is important to help children develop good oral hygiene habits such as brushing their teeth.

Typically, around 6 months of age, the lower and front teeth begin to emerge. From this time, parents should start cleaning their children's teeth using gauze or infant toothbrushes. Additionally, care should be taken to prevent habits such as sucking on a milk bottle or carrying food in the mouth, which can cause tooth decay. By 18 months of age, parents need to brush their children's teeth more thoroughly using toothpaste and a toothbrush. Since children tend to swallow toothpaste before they learn to spit it out, it is important to use toothpaste specifically designed for children.

By the age of 2, most baby teeth have erupted through the gums. Around age 3, when the upper and lower baby teeth align, it is a good time to teach children how to brush their teeth and help them develop regular brushing habits. From the time permanent teeth begin to emerge, visiting the dentist every six months for regular check-ups is the key to maintaining straight and beautiful teeth into adulthood.

Baby teeth also require cavity treatment. Professor Park So-yeon, a pediatric dentist at Seoul Asan Medical Center Children's Hospital, stated, “Baby teeth play a role in securing space for the permanent teeth to come in and guiding them to emerge correctly. If treatment is delayed and cavities cause early tooth loss, severe crowding can occur, or in cases of severe inflammation, permanent teeth may fail to emerge.”

When permanent teeth start to come in around ages 6 to 7, many consider orthodontic treatment for aligned teeth. Generally, if there are no issues with facial shape or jawbone, it is best to receive orthodontic treatment around puberty, when growth is active and all permanent teeth have come in, typically around ages 12 to 13.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.