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儿童的第一副牙齿通常被称为 "乳牙"。它们通常在 6 个月大时开始萌出，全部长出需要 2-3 年的时间。一般来说，乳牙会在口腔中保留 6-12 年，为 6-7 岁开始长出的新成牙形成 "通道"。
人们普遍认为，应该让乳牙自行脱落，而不是拔除或拔掉。是的，这一原则在 80-90% 的情况下都是正确的，但也有例外。
通常情况下，乳牙只有在严重受损时才会被拔除。例如，在严重受伤的情况下，乳牙可能会破裂、松动或撞击，可能需要拔除。
严重龋坏或感染的乳牙也可能需要拔除。如果补牙或根管治疗不足以挽救牙齿，最好还是拔除，因为这样可以防止感染扩散到口腔其他部位，并消除孩子的疼痛和牙痛。
在某些情况下，提取是必要的：
严重蛀牙或感染（图 1）。这通常是由于缺乏正确的口腔卫生护理和不良饮食习惯造成的。也可能是由于牙齿在形成阶段结构薄弱。看 儿童友好型正畸医生 或牙医，他们会提供建议和治疗，以免为时已晚。
"顽固 "的乳牙，即使非常松动也不肯脱落。这种情况可能发生在牙龈组织非常纤维化或部分乳牙牙根仍然扎根的情况下。听取正确的专业人士的建议，就能找出问题所在，并提供正确的治疗或指导。
图 1
图 2a
图 2b
图 3
成牙在口腔的错误部位萌出（图 2a）。这就是所谓的成牙 "异位萌出"。当这种情况发生时，相应的乳牙通常会保持相当坚固，因为它们的牙根没有被成牙吸收（参考图 2b），乳牙根部没有受到来自下方的压力而将乳牙挤出。
乳牙下可能形成缺失的成牙（图 3）。这通常是先天性的，可能很多年都不会被发现。由于下面缺失的相应成牙没有压力，乳牙可以在口腔中保留很多年，直到断裂或磨损。乳牙的牙齿硬度（或耐久性）不如成牙，无法长期替代先天缺失的成牙。如果能及早发现这一问题，正畸医生就能找到办法，在不使用人工修复手段（如种植牙和牙桥）的情况下，替代缺失的成人牙齿。拥有一副好的天然牙齿的长期好处不可低估。如果能及早发现问题，并做好长期可持续发展的规划，直至步入晚年，总是会有所回报的。
您可以放心，如果有侵入性较小的方法可以保住牙齿并尽可能长时间地保留在口腔中，您孩子的牙医绝不会建议拔除乳牙。但是，在上述任何一种情况下，如果有必要拔牙，则必须尽早拔除，以防止下面的恒牙受到感染！
关于我们的诊所
在凯瑟琳-李博士口腔正畸诊所，我们拥有一支由医生和员工组成的专业团队，他们的技术和经验帮助我们的患者享受创造更健康、更美丽笑容的过程。我们非常关注儿童的成长，尤其欢迎需要儿童牙齿矫正和牙科治疗的患者前来就诊。如需咨询，请通过以下方式联系我们 enquiries@DrCatherineLeeOrthodontics.com.
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