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Show "The Woman's Touch" A child gets two sets of teeth. While only the baby or "milk" teeth are visible during the first 5 years of life, the permanent teeth begin to form in the jaw soon after birth, and are nearly completed by the time a child reaches school age. Whatever nourishment is in the child's body, during these 5 years has to be the building material for adult teeth. Most children cut a tooth by 8 months of age. They will have anywhere from 2 to 10 teeth a year, with 4 to 6 as average. Teeth continue to come in usually in pairs until the age of 2-l4or 3, when all 20 of the first set are in When a tooth is coming in a child may b irritable or fretful, and may not eat well for a few days. But teething alone rarely accounts foi an illness. Because teething goes on for such a long time, it is easy to blame all childhood upsets on cutting a tooth, but it is safer to rule out other causes first. The first 4 permanent teeth to come through are the 6 year molars which appear sometime between the fifth and seventh birthdays. They come in behind the last baby theeth on both sides of upper and lower jaws, and are sometimes mistaken for temporary teeth. Take good care of the 6 -year molars, for they must last a lifetime. All of the child's teeth are important, however. They enable him to chew his food properly as an aid to digestion. The presence of baby teeth helps to form a proper jaw line. The child's bite, or occlusion of the teeth, is determined largely by his heredity, but premature loss of baby teeth can alter its shape. Regular check by the dentist beginning at age 2 or 3. With an early start, the child will be able to make friends with his dentist through the examination examina-tion and cleaning. Cavities will be found early and treated. If the first visit is postponed until a later age, the child's introduction intro-duction to the dentist is apt to be less pleasant. A water supply which contains sufficient fluorine is an advantage advant-age in helping to prevent cavities. There is no doubt that a proper amount of fluorine in the drinking water is harmless and can reduce by two -thirds the number of cavities in the teeth of its growing children. If your water supply does not contain sufficient fluorine, a dentist may wish to apply a fluorine solution toy your child's teeth at regular intervals. |