FACTS ABOUT BABY TEETH

Before we had our big kid teeth, we all had little milk teeth. Maybe you remember losing one and hiding it under your pillow for the tooth fairy? Maybe this thought dawned on you: If your baby teeth just fall out, are they really important? The answer is a resounding, YES! Even though your child’s teeth may be ready to fall out, they definitely serve a purpose.

1. You can Practice Good Dental Habits

When adults do not take care of their teeth what happens? They decay and cause painful and expensive problems for oral hygiene. Learning good habits as early will save your children the trouble of dental problems later.

     2.  They Reserve Space for Adult Teeth

The spaces that baby teeth leave in the gums and along the jawbone are where your adult teeth will form. These teeth must stay healthy in order to assure that your child’s permanent teeth grow where they are supposed to.

     3.  Practice Chewing and Eating Healthy foods.

It goes without saying that a child without healthy teeth cannot eat broccoli very well. Having healthy teeth is important so that your child can learn to eat and enjoy healthier foods like fruits and vegetables without any pain. On top of that, your child can learn to chew certain foods properly. It might be just instinct to you, but there are certain foods that need to be chewed with your molars or your font teeth for instance.

     4.  Develop Strong Jaw Muscles

Exercise makes you strong, and your jaws don’t get strong without exercise just like the rest of you! Did you know that you bite is about as strong as a gorilla’s? It doesn’t get that way without work. If you think about it, you work for years to build up your strength. Imagine how strong gum chewer’s mouths are…

     5.  It Helps to Develop Good Speaking Skills

Try saying “That Thistle Thought Thirty Thumps” (five times fast?) you can’t do that without your teeth! Poor dental habits can cause speech problems for your children that may be hard to fix later on down the road.

So, just because your child’s teeth will fallout and be replaced does not mean that you can neglect them. Every process that we go through as children is to prepare us for adulthood. From learning to walk to learning to read, there is work and practice involved. The same is true with your child’s teeth. If you are unsure as to what exactly you must do to keep your children’s oral health in tip top shape, just give us a call and you can talk to one of our great dentists to help steer you in the right direction!