A Gap Between Your Child’s Front Teeth: Should You Worry? A gap between your child’s two front teeth can look like a problem in the making, but in young children it is usually normal and often a good sign. Spacing between baby teeth tends to mean there is room for the larger permanent teeth coming […]
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Shark Teeth: When a Permanent Tooth Comes In Behind a Baby Tooth Your child opens wide and there it is: a second row of teeth, an adult tooth coming in behind a baby tooth that has not budged. It looks like a shark’s mouth, which is where the nickname comes from, and it tends to
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Ready to Lose the Pacifier? A Timeline and a Plan A pacifier is a normal source of comfort in the early years, and using one isn’t a problem. What matters is when it stops. The window for weaning closes around age three, and getting it done before then protects how your child’s bite and palate
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Is Your Child’s Thumb Sucking Something to Worry About? Thumb sucking is a normal reflex in babies and toddlers, and for most children it causes no lasting harm to their teeth. Whether it becomes a problem depends on two things: how old your child is and how intensely they suck. A toddler who rests a
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When Can Kids Brush Their Own Teeth? When to Stop Helping Most kids can start brushing their own teeth around age six, but starting the job and finishing it well are two different things. The hands that can hold a toothbrush at three can’t reliably clean every surface until much later, which is why pediatric
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The Best Foods for Your Child’s Teeth (and the Ones to Limit) What a child eats affects their teeth as much as how well they brush. Some foods strengthen enamel, some scrub the teeth clean as kids chew, and some wash acid off the surface, while others feed the bacteria that cause cavities. You don’t
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When Do Babies Get Their First Tooth? A Timeline for Parents Baby teeth usually start coming in around six months, though the normal range runs from four months to a full year. Knowing the typical timeline, the order the teeth appear, and how to care for that first tooth helps you tell normal development from
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When Should Kids Get Their First Dental X-Ray? The hygienist mentioned X-rays at your child’s last visit and you’re already running through the math in your head: how much radiation, how necessary, whether you can just say no. The hesitation is reasonable. Pediatric X-rays should be ordered with a clear reason, not as a default
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How Often Should Kids Go to the Dentist? You scheduled your child’s first dental visit, the dentist did a friendly exam, and at the end someone said see you in six months. If you grew up going twice a year yourself, the answer feels obvious. If you didn’t, it can feel like a lot. The
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Baby Teething: Real Symptoms vs. Common Myths Your baby is fussier than usual, drooling through three bibs a day, and chewing on everything they can get to their mouth. The first instinct is to blame teething, and most of the time that instinct is right. Teething can be uncomfortable, sometimes for weeks at a time,
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