Teeth have many nicknames and baby teeth are no different. You may hear the names primary teeth, deciduous teeth, baby teeth, and milk teeth; these are all referring to the same set of teeth! A lot of times, these nicknames lead people to believe these teeth aren’t very important. THAT’S WRONG!
Baby teeth are very important for your child for a number of different reasons. We’re going to chat about some of these today!
- Chew, Speak, Smile! These are all things you want your child to be able to do and excel at! Without baby teeth, these can be very difficult.
- Space Maintenance! Baby teeth hold space in the jaws for permanent teeth (adult teeth) while they grow under the gums. If a baby tooth is lost early, surrounding teeth can move and drift and the permanent teeth can have a tough time coming into the mouth, they may even become stuck! If a baby tooth must be lost early, we often must make a space maintainer appliance to keep the surrounding teeth in place.
- Healthy Habits! One benefit of baby teeth, is they allow children to begin healthy habits early! Children can learn to care for their baby teeth so that when the permanent ones come in, they will have all the skills to maintain and keep them for the rest of their lives!
A lot of times when we find cavities in baby teeth, parents don’t want to fix these teeth since they are going to be lost. Cavities in any teeth left untreated will grow and can cause pain and infections. Because your teeth are connected to the rest of your body, an infection in the mouth can be very detrimental to your child’s overall health! You can read more about your child’s baby teeth from the American Dental Association.
We recommend your child see the dentist by the age of one or when they have their first tooth. Our goal is to establish a relationship with your child so they can have the best experience at the dentist!
Don’t forget to help your child brush their teeth until they can write their own name in cursive!
