Teething and the formation of baby teeth is a developmental milestone in every mother and child’s life.

The first milk teeth, known as primary teeth, typically appear as early as 3-4 months of age, but really start to make their way through the gums between the ages of 6 months to 1 year of age.

The teething ages vary, and which teeth come out first also depends, too, however all 20 baby teeth will generally erupt by the age of 3. It is recommended that parents schedule their baby for a check-up with a paediatric dentist within 6 months of their child’s first tooth emerging.

Although, baby teeth do out eventually fall and are replaced by permanent teeth, they are an extremely important factor in the development of your child’s oral health.

Baby Teeth Benefits

Speech development

• Learning to speak clearly is vital for cognitive, social, and emotional early childhood development. 
• The proper positioning of baby teeth enables correct syllable pronunciation and prevents the tongue from straying during speech development.

Eating and nutrition

• A child with malformed or severely decayed milk teeth is more likely to experience nutritional deficiencies, undernourishment, and to be underweight. 
• With extensive practice, proper chewing motions are acquired over time.
• Healthy, well developed milk teeth promote good chewing habits and facilitate nutritious eating.

Straighter teeth in the future

• One of the main functions of baby teeth is to hold the appropriate amount of space in a child’s jaw for their developing permanent teeth.
• Additionally, these spacers assist with the proper alignment of permanent teeth and also support jaw development. 
• When missing baby teeth are left untreated, they begin to cause the remaining teeth to “shift” and move into spaces unfittingly.  For this reason, pediatric dentists often recommend that children us space-maintaining devices.

Good oral health

• It is important to note that badly decayed baby teeth can be an onset of childhood periodontal disease. 
• As a result of childhood periodontal disease, oral bacteria infect and erode gums, ligaments, and eventually bone. 
• Consequently, if this condition is left untreated, baby teeth can drop out entirely.
• Due to the premature loss of baby teeth, oral health and teeth spacing problems occur for emerging permanent teeth.
• In order to avoid periodontal disease, children must practice an adult-guided oral care routine each day.  Infant gums must be cleaned gently with a clean, damp cloth after meals.

A confident smile

• Taking good care of milk teeth and having overall good oral hygiene can make social interactions more enjoyable, reduces the possibility of bad breath, and promotes confident smiles with positive social interactions.

Cloud 9 Dental – Dentist Claremont

Cloud 9 Dental is a family dentist specialising in working with children and all aspects of paediatric dentistry.

We offer everything from routine check-ups and cleanings to root canal treatment and dental crown and dental bridge in a friendly and homely setting. We also do treatment under conscious sedation and general anaesthesia.

For more information about our practice and services, please contact us.