What should I do if my child has gaps between his teeth?

Everyone wants to have neat and closely arranged teeth. However, in life, it is very common for people to have gaps between their teeth. If a child has gaps between their teeth, the impact will be relatively large. For example, it may affect the appearance and is very detrimental to dental hygiene. So, what are the current solutions to the problem of gaps between children's teeth?

What should I do if my child has gaps between his teeth?

During this stage, some parents find that there is a gap between their children's two newly grown upper front teeth, and some are even in the shape of an "eight" shape. They become very worried that their children's front teeth may be damaged, and ask the doctor to perform corrections for their children. In fact, in most cases, no treatment is needed.

Since the eruption of permanent teeth has a certain time sequence, the maxillary central incisor (commonly known as the upper front teeth) erupts between the ages of 6 and 9, and the lateral incisor (the tooth next to the front teeth) erupts between the ages of 7 and 11.

The middle gap appears in the early stage of the eruption of the upper incisors. Sometimes it is caused by the lateral incisor tooth germ squeezing the upper incisor root during the eruption process. As long as the lateral incisor next to it erupts, the gap will disappear naturally. Some gaps are caused by the permanent incisors leaning towards the labial side when they erupt, which increases the width of the dental arch. However, when the deciduous teeth and permanent teeth alternate, the permanent teeth are generally larger than the deciduous teeth, and the center gap of the incisors can just compensate for the difference.

Moreover, when the deciduous molars fall out, the first permanent molars tend to move forward. This trend can gradually close the gap between the incisors. Therefore, the gap between the incisors in children is only temporary and will generally adjust itself during growth and development without the need for correction.

Of course, the gap between children's front teeth may also be caused by special reasons such as supernumerary teeth or the upper lip frenulum being too low. After examination and confirmation by the dentist, the problem can be solved by extracting the supernumerary teeth or performing upper lip frenulum repair surgery.

If there are still gaps between the baby's front teeth after all the teeth have been replaced, it is necessary to go to a regular medical institution for corrective treatment. There are many possible reasons why children have larger gaps between their front teeth, and the specific reasons should be based on the doctor's examination results.

How to take good care of your baby's teeth

1. Control the brushing time

It is important to brush your teeth in the morning and evening, but the best time is within 3 minutes after each meal. Because within 3 minutes after a meal, the bacteria in the mouth begin to decompose the acidic substances in food residues, corroding and dissolving the tooth enamel. Brushing your teeth for a longer time or with greater force will not make your teeth cleaner. In fact, this may damage the protective film on the teeth. Brush your teeth for about 2 minutes, using a little force and applying force evenly. Although the plaque will gradually decrease as the brushing time and force increase, more plaque will not be removed if the brushing time exceeds 2 minutes or the force is greater.

2. Love teeth from infancy

It is very necessary to protect teeth from infancy and create a good growth environment for teeth. For example, after a baby drinks breast milk, he should rinse his mouth with boiled water, or use gauze dipped in warm water or light salt water to clean the baby's mouth, which can prevent oral inflammation.

After the baby's first tooth erupts, the mother can wipe the gums with gauze dipped in water. At the same time, you can use a fingertip toothbrush to brush your baby's teeth. This not only cleans the teeth, but also gently massages the gums.