Friday, March 9, 2012

Baby's First Teeth

    My other post on baby's teeth has been wildly popular with parents who are googling information on their baby's first teeth! I, too, am interested in the subject, so I thought I'd do a little more research.  Last week Q-ball's top teeth started coming in- 4 of them in at once!  But, I was curious because her left central incisor (the upper left tooth) did not seem to be coming in, while both of her lateral incisors (the teeth next to the center teeth...) were coming in. Everything I had previously read always said that the first four teeth were the top and bottom middle teeth.  So, I decided to find out: What is the typical order of deciduous teeth eruption? Or in what order will my baby's first teeth come in?
   I didn't find information that is as specific as I typically like, but I ended up finding some other information to make me slightly more accomplished.  Here's a random smattering of most interesting information I found:
  • Lower teeth typically erupt first- typically around 6 months.
  • Teeth typically emerge in pairs.
  • Girls typically get their baby teeth before boys.
  • The formation of teeth represents two seemingly opposing actions- the creation of bone and the resorption of bone (or the breakdown of bone).  Teeth are fully formed in bone, but most break out of the bone to emerge.
  • A 2000 study published in the Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics found that fever is not associated with teething, despite claims by many parents and pediatricians.
  •  The eruption of teeth changes the composition of saliva in infants. About one month prior to teeth emergence, their is an increase in various proteins that are typically found in human blood, likely indicating the weakening of the gums.  Following the emergence of teeth, the following increase in infant saliva: certain enzymes (namely amylase) that help breakdown food and IgA which is an antibody that helps with immunity.
  • Lower birth weight is associated with later eruption of baby teeth.
Sources:
Bayer, P. & Beatrix, B. (2000). Tooth eruption. Trends in Biochemical Science, 25(8). 366.
Morzel, M., Palicki, O., Chabanet,C., Lucchi, G., Ducoroy,P., Chambon,C., & Nicklaus, S. Saliva electrophoretic protein profiles in infants: Changes with age and impact of teeth eruption and diet transition. Archives of Oral Biology, 56(7). 634-642.
Sajjadian, N., Shajari1, H., Jahadi, R. Barakat, M., & Sajjadian, A. (2010). Relationship between birth weight and time of first deciduous tooth eruption in 143 consecutively born infants. Pediatrics neonatal, 51(4), 235-237.
Wake, M.,Hesketh, K., Lucas, J. (2000). Teething and tooth eruption in infants: A cohort study. Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics, 106(6). 
Williams, D. (2009, March 15). Teeth eruption charts. Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=43131

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...