Baby teeth to adult teeth

Baby teeth to adult teeth

As you’ll no doubt already know, as humans we have two sets of teeth in our lifetime. These are our baby, or milk, teeth, and then our permanent adult teeth.

Of course, we only get one set of adult teeth and we all know the importance of looking after these with excellent oral care at home, as well as regular hygienist appointments to keep everything lovely and clean, and your dental check-ups to ensure things are in tip top condition.

However, many people believe that milk teeth are less important because they will eventually fall out to make way for the adult set of teeth. Here at the Crendon Dental Centre we cannot stress the importance of looking after those precious baby teeth strongly enough! But why?

The importance of milk teeth

By the time children are around three years old, they should have all, or most, of their milk teeth. These allow children to eat and chew a wide variety of foods, giving them access to a healthy and balanced diet. In addition, milk teeth are very important to the development of a child’s speech, without teeth it is difficult to form many of the normal sounds we need to make to converse. They also provide support for the facial muscles and give shape to the child’s face.

Milk teeth also pave the way for adult teeth. They create the space required and guide the new, permanent teeth into their new position. Children who lose their baby teeth too early, through decay, often end up with overcrowding problems or misaligned adult teeth. In addition, a decayed milk tooth can affect the adult tooth by damaging it or forcing it into the wrong position.

Children begin to naturally lose their milk teeth between the ages of 6-8 years old and their adult teeth will naturally grow into the space left behind.

Looking after milk teeth

It is important to get children into good oral hygiene habits from an early age. As soon as their first tooth comes through you should start brushing twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste. This should be supervised until the age of seven, although we always advise keeping an eye on them after this to ensure they are skipping their brushing!

Your dentist or hygienist can help you with brushing techniques and will also provide advice on how much toothpaste you should use. If you’d like to know more, contact us on 01494 528153.