Introduction
The change of teeth in a child describes the process in which the milk teeth (1st dentition) are replaced by the teeth of the permanent dentition (2nd dentition). The infant is normally born edentulous. This probably serves to protect the child, but above all it is a protection against injuries caused by the mother during breastfeeding.
In rare cases, teeth may already be present at birth, in which case one speaks of natural teeth. Mostly the lower jaw teeth are affected. These teeth are usually not properly formed and are very mobile.
To protect against swallowing and also to enable breastfeeding, it is recommended to have these natural teeth extracted. As a rule, however, the infant is born edentulous. After six to eight months, the lower incisors are the first to break through.
The penetration of teeth through the mucous membrane of the mouth is in most cases painful for the infant. The pain can be alleviated, for example, by using teething rings. The upper incisors, milk molars and canines follow.
Usually after two years +/- 6 months all milk teeth have broken through. The milk teeth consist of 20 teeth in total. Each side consists of five teeth, i.e. two incisors, one canine and two milk molars.
The change of teeth in the child now causes the milk teeth to be displaced by the teeth of the permanent dentition and fall out. In the upper and lower jaws, the permanent teeth are also located since birth, but these develop later and more slowly. The permanent teeth develop with advancing age and grow towards the maxillary sinus.
This growth leads to the fact that the roots of the milk teeth start to dissolve (resorb). As a result, they later start to wobble and fall out or infants often pull them out themselves, these teeth are called replacement teeth. In the permanent dentition a distinction is made between replacement teeth and growth teeth.
Incoming teeth break through behind the teeth of the primary dentition. They do not replace teeth, but increase the number of teeth in total. The first tooth of the permanent dentition is a wax tooth.
It is called a 6-year molar. It breaks behind the deciduous molars and is a very important tooth for permanent dentition. The 6-year molar is in the permanent dentition in the chewing center.
It is therefore especially important that parents pay attention to the oral hygiene of their child and support him/her in this. The lower and upper incisors follow, as first replacement teeth. At the age of approx.
10 years the so-called premolars, the milk molars, replace them. The premolars are a new type of teeth, which did not exist in milk teeth. The lower canine tooth usually breaks through before the upper one.
At the age of twelve years molars break through behind the 6 year old, the second molar of the permanent dentition. The last tooth of the permanent dentition, the wisdom tooth, has individual breakthrough times and therefore no exact prognosis can be given. In some cases the wisdom tooth never erupts completely.
