If you’ve got little ones running around the house, you’ve already been through the teething stage, or perhaps that’s just starting. Whatever your parenting situation might be you’re most likely in for several years of caring for a set of baby teeth. As you work to help instill good dental habits for your kids, in addition to encouraging daily brushing, here are a few things that we think every parent should know about baby teeth. Children Are Born with Teeth Although children when they’re born don’t have any visible teeth, that doesn’t mean they weren’t born with any. In fact, children are born with 20 baby teeth that just haven’t erupted yet. Eruption is what occurs when the baby teeth begin to break through the surface of the gums. This process is known as teething and typically begins around the age of 6 months. The first teeth to erupt are usually the bottom two teeth also called the incisors. Spacing Between Teeth is Normal As children’s teeth begin to appear, they are likely to have lots of space between their teeth so don’t be concerned. This is very common and actually a great sign for future dental health. The spacing...

While we certainly hope that a dental emergency never occurs for our patients, the truth is that life is unpredictable and sometimes unexpected things can happen. Just as with everything else in life, having proper information is key when these types of events occur. To ensure that our patients are best prepared to handle these occasions, we’re touching on a few of the basics surrounding dental emergencies. What Is a Dental Emergency? The most basic definition of a dental emergency is any dental problem that requires immediate treatment to stop bleeding, alleviate severe pain, or help prevent the permanent loss of the tooth. In dental emergencies it’s important that you get in to see a dentist as soon as possible. At Inland Family Dentistry we always have a dentist on call, and after hours you can call our office at 509-525-7250 and select option 2 to leave a message and have one of our doctors return your call. What Types of Events Might be Classified as Dental Emergencies Knocked Out Tooth – in the event that your adult permanent tooth is knocked out you want to do the best you can to keep the tooth moist and prevent it from...