The first teeth

The joy over the first little tooth is usually great. However, the time of teething is often also associated with sleepless nights, restlessness and slight fever. Here you will find the most important information about teething and your child's dental health to accompany the development as well as possible.

The first milk teeth usually appear at the age of 6 to 8 months. The two lower incisors usually make the beginning. At about two and a half years, the deciduous dentition is complete with a total of 20 teeth.

The teeth are already in place before they erupt in the jaw. They advance slowly and can cause pain even before their visible appearance. During teething, the gums are often red. Some babies are particularly restless during this time, crying and having a slightly elevated temperature or diarrhea.

It is wrong to think that the milk teeth do not need to be cared for so thoroughly because they fall out anyway. The milk teeth need careful care from the very beginning. Because every diseased tooth, and this also applies to milk teeth, causes your child great pain.

Milk teeth also have important tasks for maintaining dental health:

• Milk teeth are placeholders for the permanent teeth.
• By chewing, the formation of the jaw is promoted.
• And should the milk teeth have caries, there is a risk that the caries bacteria are transferred to the permanent teeth.

Regular dental care should begin as early as the eruption of the first teeth at the age of about 6 months. Use an age-appropriate, very soft children's toothbrush with a small head. This will allow you to gently clean teeth. Teeth should be cleaned twice a day. This way, your baby will also get used to the morning and evening brushing routine right from the start. First care for the chewing surfaces with short forward and backward movements, then the outer surfaces with circular movements and finally the inner surfaces of the teeth.