March/April 2007; Toofie Time
I
have another toofie Mom! Just look into this mouth and gaze at
future dentistry bills! Deciduous teeth, otherwise known as milk teeth,
baby teeth, temporary teeth or primary teeth, are the first set of teeth
in the growth development of humans and many other mammals. They develop
during the embryonic stage of development and erupt — that is, they
become visible in the mouth — during infancy. They are usually lost and
replaced by permanent teeth, but in the absence of permanent
replacements, they can remain functional for many years.
Deciduous teeth start to form during the embryo phase of pregnancy. The
development of deciduous teeth starts at the sixth week of development
as the dental lamina. This process starts at the midline and then
spreads back into the posterior region. By the time the embryo is eight
weeks old, there are ten areas on the upper and lower arches that will
eventually become the deciduous dentition. These teeth will continue to
form until they erupt in the mouth. In the deciduous dentition there are
a total of twenty teeth: five per quadrant and ten per arch. The
eruption of these teeth begins at the age of six months and continues
until twenty-five to thirty-three months of age. The first teeth seen in
the mouth are the mandibular centrals and the last are the maxillary
second molars.
