The arrival of your child's permanent teeth is both exciting and bittersweet. Your child has their grown-up teeth, which is a clear sign that they're growing up (and it's happening so quickly). But this excitement may give way to some confusion. Is that how permanent adult teeth should look? Sometimes a child's new adult tooth can feature a series of rounded bumps or nodules on its biting surface. These are called mamelons, and even though you don't have any yourself, chances are you once did.
A Common Part of Tooth Development
The prominence of a mamelon on a child's permanent tooth can vary. Sometimes they're extremely conspicuous, and often they're barely noticeable. In any event, almost all mamelons will become barely noticeable as time goes by. These rounded bumps, which can also look jagged, won't develop on all teeth. And yet they're a common part of tooth development—one that doesn't necessarily need treatment.
Dental Occlusion
You may have had mamelons yourself during childhood. If you don't remember, it's because they slowly disappeared over the years, and were probably gone by the time you reached adulthood. Dental occlusion is the contact between your upper and lower dental arches. Correct occlusion involves the biting surfaces of your upper and lower teeth making contact when your jaw is closed. The contact produces friction when biting and eating, speaking, or even when your mouth simply opens and closes. The friction will progressively shrink any present mamelons until they're no longer visible. This is why the condition doesn't necessarily need treatment.
Irregular Occlusion
Your child's mamelons should still be assessed by the team at your local pediatric dentistry clinic. They'll be noted during your child's regular checkups, and it will be determined if any intervention is needed. While most mamelons are self-correcting, any irregular occlusion can be relevant. For example, someone with an overbite or underbite may not have satisfactory occlusion and may need orthodontic treatment to align their upper and lower dental arches. Irregular occlusion could prevent any mamelons from being naturally eroded, and a dentist may need to contour the tooth's enamel—which is a quick and painless procedure. However, mamelons will generally disappear naturally when any irregular dental occlusion is treated, such as with dental braces or another form of orthodontics.
Rounded bumps or nodules on your child's new adult teeth are quite ordinary, and their dentist will let you know if treatment is even needed. For more information, contact a company like the New England Dental Specialists of Norwood.
Share20 March 2023
Halloween is a holiday that my children love, and telling them they can't go door-to-door collecting candy would break their hearts. This led me to allowing them to collect candy on the holiday, then rationing it out to them every day instead of letting them gobble it up in just a few days. I always thought this was better for them, but my dentist told me this could be the reason why their February dental check-ups were always their worst ones. Daily candy consumption was taking a toll on their teeth. I started a new tradition of letting them indulge for two days, then giving them the option to swap the rest with me in exchange for a new toy. They never pass on the opportunity for a new toy. I created this blog to encourage other parents find similar tactics to keep their children's teeth healthy after Halloween.