subject: Answering Questions About Baby Teeth [print this page] Baby teeth are mystery to many peopleBaby teeth are mystery to many people. There are many questions associated with why we have them, what their function is, and why they fall out.
Others who are not parents wonder what the big deal is when parents force their children to brush and floss their baby teeth. After all, they are going to fall out anyway.
The reason is that even though the baby teeth will fall out anyway, the habits developed at an early age of brushing your teeth is a vital habit to having healthy adult teeth in the future. If those habits are not taught while young, they can be very difficult to develop when the child is older.
Baby teeth are also used for much more than simply eating. They are responsible for reserving the space for the permanent teeth to emerge.
The baby teeth usually fall out about the same time as the permanent, or adult, teeth are emerging. However, there are many factors that will affect the speed and result of this process.
This happens because as the adult teeth emerge, they will dissolve the baby teeth roots. Without roots the baby tooth will then fall out.
The baby teeth will generally fall out in about the same order as they developed and appeared in the mouth. The adult teeth then have room to emerge and fully develop.
The first tooth is usually lost between the age of six and seven. The lower central incisors are usually the first teeth that are lost, which are followed by the upper central incisors.
This tradition led to the song "All I Want For Christmas Are My Two Front Teeth." The loss of these front teeth may affect eating slightly, but eating should not be a huge problem.
The only hindrances may be biting into hard foods such as apples, carrots, and so forth. With a little preparation of chopping up these foods and you child will still be able to use their back teeth to eat it.
Between the ages of seven and eight, your child may lose their lateral incisors. The lateral incisors are situated between the central incisor and cuspid.
At this point, eating certain foods without preparation will become more difficult. Corn on the cob, chicken wings, and ribs will become difficult to eat without being chopped up.
Between the ages of nine and twelve, your child will have a pause in tooth loss. This pause will be followed by the loss of the upper and lower primary first molars.
These teeth are the ones that are used heavily for chewing, so it may be wise to avoid feeding your child things that require a lot of chewing until his or her adult primary molars come in.
At this point, your child may complain about how things get stuck between the second primary molars and the rest of the teeth. If things are getting stuck, it is important that your child brushes and flosses regularly to remove the plaque.
Then, the lower cuspids will fall out. Between the ages of ten and twelve, your child should have lost about 17 baby teeth.
The upper cuspid and upper and lower primary molars are among the last baby teeth to exit the mouth.
By the age of thirteen, your child will have most of his or her permanent teeth.
The only exception is the wisdom teeth, which will not come in until between the ages of seventeen and twenty one.
Throughout the entire process it is very important that your child brushes and flosses correctly to preserve these new teeth. Regular visits to the dentist are also a must.
The dentist will be able to prevent cavities, detect cavities, spot signs of malocclusion, and may more things. If baby teeth failed to fall out, even though the roots were dissolved, the dentist will be able to give you an honest opinion on whether you should seek orthodontic care for your child's teeth.
