In this paper, we study the creation of zeros in a certain type of families of functions. The families studied are given by the difference of two basic functions with a translation made in the argument of one of these functions. The problem is motivated by applications in the 16th Hilbert problem and its ramifications. Here, we apply the results obtained to the study of bifurcations of critical periods in the Loud family of quadratic centers. © 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.