A he althy person should have 28 or 32 teeth in the mouth. This amount depends on whether the wisdom teeth have already grown or not. But what is the correct name for all teeth? And what is a molar tooth? Not everyone knows the answers to these questions. But still, it is worth understanding these and many other issues in order to have an idea about the he alth of your own teeth and the structure of the oral cavity.
What are those molars?
These teeth have a lot of names: chewing teeth, molars. Undoubtedly, the latter is the truest and most frequently used in dentistry. A logical question arises, molars - what kind of teeth are they? Finding them in your mouth is very easy - these are the largest teeth in the row. From English, "molar" is translated as "molars". Indeed, molars are molars, despite the fact that they appear quite early in childhood.
The very last molar tooth in each row is the wisdom tooth. It can erupt even at the age of 40, or it may not come out at all. In any case, this will be the norm. Also, molars are called 2 more teeth in each arch of the dentition that precedewisdom teeth. That is, in total, there should be from 8 to 12 molars in the oral cavity, depending on whether wisdom teeth have erupted. Children under 6 years old have only 8 molars, and they are dairy. That is, from 6 to 12 years old, these teeth will fall out, and permanent molars will appear in their place.
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These teeth differ even from each other. The structure of the molars of the upper and lower jaws has significant differences. The first molar tooth is the largest. The rest are smaller than the first, the sizes decrease from the first to the third. The molar of the upper row has a more powerful root than the lower molar: the upper one has 3 roots, while the lower row has 2 roots. The tooth of the second molar is much smaller than the first in terms of crown area. But nevertheless, all 3 molars on each dental arch have a powerful crown, as they are intended for chewing, grinding food.
On the crown of the molars of both the upper and lower rows there are tubercles: normally there are from 3 to 5 on each tooth. The cusps of the upper molars are sharper and more prominent, especially the buccal cusps. Lingual ones are more rounded. And in the lower molars, lower and blunt tubercles can be noted. True, unlike the upper molars, the lingual cusps of the lower ones are just the same more pointed and protruding, compared to the buccal cusps.
As for the size of the teeth, the molars of the lower row are larger than those of the upper row. Only wisdom teeth can differ in shape and structure. These molars can have both 2 and 3 roots. And the shape of the crown can be varied. These wisdom teeth anddifferent from all the rest: they are fickle, and it is impossible to predict what form they will be.
Teeth-molars and premolars: what is their difference
Usually these teeth are confused by parents who do not understand why, when milk molars fall out, not molars, but premolars come out after them? The explanation for this phenomenon is very simple: the oral cavity grows, and the molars crawl out behind the primary molars. The premolars are located behind the canines and are much smaller than the molars. The first premolar has 2 roots, while the rest have 1. There are 8 premolars in the oral cavity: 4 in each jaw.
Unlike molars, there are no premolars in the milk bite. Children have too small jaws to accommodate so many teeth. Although premolars are considered the smallest molars, it cannot be said that they are very small in size. The premolar is also designed for grinding and chewing food. In shape, they are more like fangs, only their crown is much wider than that of fangs. There are 2 tubercles on the very crown of the premolar.
At what age do deciduous molars appear?
The eruption of molars in a small child must be remembered by every parent. After all, these teeth come out much more painful than the rest, not counting the fangs. There are only 8 molars in the milk bite (2 on each dental arch of the upper and lower jaws). They are located immediately behind the fangs, but cut through much earlier than them.
The first molars begin to erupt mainly after the child reaches one year. Like allthe rest of the teeth, they come out in pairs. The very first, as a rule, cut through the molar in the lower jaw. After him, the molar tooth in the upper jaw should come out. The first milk molars should normally erupt before the child reaches 18-20 months. Moreover, in the same period, fangs, the most painful teeth, can also begin to crawl out. Therefore, the age of up to 2 years is considered the time of eruption of the heaviest teeth.
As for the second primary molars, they appear after about 2 years, sometimes a little earlier or later. Normally, these teeth erupt up to 2.5 years. But not always a deviation from the norm is a pathology. Eruption of molars earlier or later may be due to genetic predisposition or heredity.
When are deciduous molars replaced by molars?
Children's milk teeth begin to be replaced by permanent teeth at about 5 years of age. And it is the molars that appear first. A child's teeth change in the reverse order of how they appeared. Root molars do not replace any teeth: they appear in empty places that are formed due to the growth of the jaw. So root molars are what teeth in a row? These are the last teeth, which are located immediately behind the milk molars. The first molars are sometimes also called six-year-olds, because around this age they already begin to appear.
Milk molars, in turn, fall out from 9 to 12 years. In their place, root premolars erupt. These teeth appear immediately after the milk teeth have fallen out, that is,around the age of 10 to 12. On average, by the age of 14, a child does not have a single milk tooth, but there are rare exceptions in dental practice, when milk teeth do not fall out until the age of 18 or even later. If teeth begin to fall out before the age of 5, this is a reason to consult a dentist, as early tooth loss can be associated with trauma, malocclusion, deliberate loosening or neglected caries.
Do I need to loosen the primary molars?
The one that appears after the age of 1 year, the molar is a milk tooth. Of course, one day it will begin to loosen and fall out. Often, parents, when they find out that a child’s tooth is starting to loosen, offer to loosen it so that the tooth falls out faster. But can the natural process of tooth loss be accelerated? Is it fraught with problems with the oral cavity in the future? It is unlikely that parents think about it. After all, they were also taught in childhood that the tooth should be loosened and pulled out.
Dentists say that it is impossible to deliberately loosen baby teeth. After all, if you accelerate the process of tooth loss, the process of jaw growth may slow down and the molar tooth will come out in the wrong place. It happens that the problem of crowding or curvature of teeth in adulthood is associated precisely with incorrect actions during the change of teeth.
This also applies to primary molars. In no case should you shake them to speed up the process of falling out. The maxillofacial apparatus of the child prepares itself for the change of teeth on its own and this naturalprocess.
How to understand that the molars will erupt soon?
Symptoms of rapid eruption of molars are somewhat different from the eruption of milk teeth. After all, when milk teeth appear, gums swell, salivation increases, children become restless, they can sleep poorly, refuse to eat. Sometimes even a runny nose appears due to reduced immunity against the background of teething. In rare cases, babies even have diarrhea. But when it comes to molars, there is one main symptom - the growth of the jaw and the appearance of free space behind the primary molars. It is in this free space that the root molars will erupt.
Besides this, a very important symptom is the appearance of gaps between the teeth - trem. They are needed to ensure that the molars are evenly located in the oral cavity, without curvature and crowding. The absence of these trem is fraught, in addition to unaesthetic, malocclusion. In this case, the child will have to straighten his teeth with braces or lingual braces. And of course, an important symptom is the natural loosening of milk teeth, which occurs due to the resorption of the roots.
Actions when changing teeth: how to help a child easier to transfer this process
Parents often think that the process of changing milk teeth to molars is very painful for children. However, this is not the case. If this process is not interfered with, the roots of milk teeth gradually dissolve and teeth can fall out even without outside help. Or, when the tooth seems to be hanging, it can be easily removed.
In order to disinfect the oral cavity during the period of loss of milk teeth, it is necessary to explain to the child that it is necessary to rinse the mouth. Rinsing can also be done with a special product, chamomile decoction or even plain warm water.
Sometimes it happens that after a tooth falls out, the place where it used to be (hole) bleeds. To get rid of this, you need to attach a cotton swab to the hole, or it is better to ask the child to clamp it with his teeth. It is undesirable to eat and drink for 2 hours after a tooth falls out, provided that the hole is bleeding.
You should urgently consult a doctor only if the loss of milk teeth is accompanied by high fever, swollen gums and severe pain. After all, normally the change of teeth occurs almost asymptomatically.
Prevention of loss of molars
When all the molars of a child have erupted, it is very important to properly care for them. After all, if you lose a molar, a new one will not appear in its place. To do this, parents should teach their children proper oral hygiene.
First of all, you should always remember that you need to brush your teeth 2 times a day: in the morning and in the evening. It is better to use toothpaste containing calcium and fluoride.
And during the day, especially after each meal, it is better not to neglect rinsing. You can also rinse your mouth with ordinary warm water, the main thing is to remove food debris from your mouth so that they do not clog between your teeth.
It is better for a child not to consume a lot of sweets and refuse carbonated drinks. Eating these unhe althy foods can lead to tooth decay.
It is better to introduce foods rich in calcium and vitamins into the baby's diet. Calcium is essential for he althy teeth and gums. And the he alth of the gums largely depends on the he alth of the teeth.
