Baby Teeth DO Matter

Although they are temporary, it is important to keep baby teeth in good health.

Sometimes also referred to as ‘milk teeth’, your child’s first teeth are not permanent and will fall out naturally over time. This does not always happen as a child though, and can happen even in adulthood. However long they last though, they should always be kept in good health.

No parent wants to see their child suffer, and toothache can be excruciatingly painful as many of you probably know. Unfortunately, an increasing number of young children are being hospitalised to have their decayed teeth extracted. This is largely unnecessary and, with a bit of care, there is no reason why your child’s first teeth should give them any trouble.

Healthy baby teeth

It is not just to prevent decay and pain why parents should take good care of their baby’s first teeth. These initial teeth play an important function in a child’s development. By the time the first teeth come through, a child should be eating some solid foods. Having poor quality, or painful teeth, is likely to cause them to prefer only softer foods, limiting their diet in many ways.

In addition to this, the loss of teeth can lead to speech impediments. If you observe, when you speak, your tongue will touch your teeth a number of times, if these teeth are absent, your speech will be affected. This could cause potential longer-term development problems for your child.

Baby teeth are also ‘placeholders’, in that they preserve a space for adult teeth to erupt into when they are ready. If the baby teeth have had to be extracted prematurely, there is a chance that the adult teeth will come through crooked, or, in some cases, may not come through at all, potentially causing infections and discomfort.

Helping your baby

When your child is one year old, or when their first tooth bursts through, whichever is sooner, you should bring your child to see our Burton children’s dentist. Early monitoring of a child’s health will go a long way to ensuring that they have healthy teeth and gums. It is unlikely that any treatment will be needed at this time, but seeing a dentist so early in life will help to normalise the experience of a dental visit.

At Mike Allen’s Dental Practice, you can be assured that we will take good care of your child and help them to avoid anxiety that can otherwise develop.

You should also make sure that they brush their teeth at home and supervise them whilst they do this until you are satisfied that they will do so correctly on their own. The age this happens is at the discretion of the parent, but can continue well into their primary school days.

If you live in Burton and would like to register your child at Mike Allen’s Dental Practice, please do so by calling us on 01283 845345.