There aren’t many things as exciting as spying the first glimpse of a baby tooth in the mouth of your child. It is one of the first and most important milestones in a young life. Every new parent waits anxiously for the first feel, and then the first sight, of a little glimpse of white to emerge through the gums.
Baby teeth are actually there, starting to grow, long before we can ever feel them. In fact, those first teeth are beginning to grow even in the womb, long before a baby is born.
The Exciting Arrival
Because these teeth are temporary, it’s easy for people to forget just how important that first set of teeth are and why they are so important.
The first tooth makes its appearance as early as three to four month of age in some babies, and most likely you will be seeing at least one by the age of six months. By the time your child reaches the age of three, 20 baby teeth will have popped through the gums.
Baby teeth can get cavities the same way that permanent teeth can. This is another reason to take care of them. Statistics show Cavities in baby teeth most often appear in the four front teeth.
The Importance of Good Care
As soon as your child is able to understand the process of brushing, they should begin to do so every day, even if they need assistance at first. Make agame out of brushing teeth so your child will enjoy it and make sure they do so long enough. Using a timer or singing a song as long as they should be brushing will help give them an idea of how long they should brush from start to finish.
Starting to brush early will help ensure good dental health for these tiny teeth and later for the permanent teeth as brushing and flossing will already be part of a daily routine.
Paving the way for healthy permanent teeth
Baby teeth are the ones that your children will have when they are learning to eat. The important actions of chewing, tearing, and biting foods will ensure that our children are being exposed to good nutrition. From baby food and pureed foods, on to chewable foods, bread, and meat, the baby teeth are used to break down their food as they learn the process of eating.
As a child gets older, their permanent teeth may start to push out the baby teeth or the baby teeth will come out on their own. The roots will dissolve and then the loose tooth with fall out. Shortly after, you will notice the permanent tooth is poking through. This set of teeth will also determine the space that is saved for his or her permanent teeth and will form the bite a child will have the rest of his life. This is also the age when children are learning to speak well, learning to enunciate clearly, and learning how to care for this first set of teeth.
Good habits now will carry on to the permanent teeth that are probably already starting to grow under the gums.
