"Milk teeth will fall out, so there is no need to treat or take care of them" - this is a common misconception among many parents. Milk teeth play a special role in your child's future oral health. At the time of birth, a child has up to 20 milk teeth already present in the jaw. Some children have 2 teeth growing in the lower jaw at birth. But they usually start appearing in the mouth between the ages of 6 months and 1 year and help them eat and develop their jaws until the age of 12. The truth is that milk teeth are also very important for a child's physical, emotional and social development.
There are 28 permanent teeth growing very close to the roots of these baby teeth. Usually, all permanent teeth come in between the ages of 6 and 12. The 4 wisdom teeth grow in some people (between the ages of 18 and 24) while in others they do not grow at all. This second set of teeth given by nature is called permanent teeth because it is meant to last you your entire life.
Just as we take care of our permanent teeth, we should also take care of our baby teeth. Here are 6 reasons why.
1) Due to lack of hygiene and excessive consumption of sugary foods, children develop cavities very quickly. If such cavities are not treated on time, the infection or abscess that develops in them can also damage the permanent teeth that are developing underneath. Research has shown that children with more decay in their baby teeth also experience more decay in their permanent teeth in adulthood.
2) There is already a natural space between the baby teeth (20) which acts as a guide for the 28 permanent teeth that will come later to grow in the right place. Now, if the baby teeth become decayed or are removed prematurely due to lack of treatment, the adjacent teeth move into this empty space. Due to this, due to lack of space required for the permanent teeth to grow, they grow crookedly and in some children they are even found stuck in the bone. Such irregular growth and crooked arrangement makes cleaning the teeth more difficult and increases the chances of excessive decay and pyorrhea in the future.
3) Moreover, if the abscess is not treated, the infection can spread to other parts of the body and even to the brain. A completely normal problem can quickly turn into an emergency situation and the child may need to be hospitalized.
4) With baby teeth, your baby learns to chew food properly and maintain good nutrition. It plays an important role in your baby's overall health and growth. Due to toothache, the baby cannot chew food properly and it also reduces the nutrition required by the body.
5) Baby teeth also enable your child to speak clearly and learn proper pronunciation. Coordination of the tongue, lips, and cheeks with the teeth is essential while pronouncing words. The presence and proper alignment of teeth helps in the pronunciation of words. Moreover, the structure of the teeth also provides support for developing facial muscles.
6) Oral health will encourage positive emotions and self-image in your child. It has often been observed that a child who is constantly in pain due to dental problems cannot concentrate in play and studies, which also hinders his physical and mental development.
Thus, baby teeth are very important for your child's overall health and development. Your child's teeth should be checked as soon as the first tooth comes in. At this time, the dentist will guide you on how to clean your child's teeth and how to manage habits like thumb sucking. If a child does not maintain the cleanliness of their baby teeth, this negligence can lead to more serious and costly problems in their permanent teeth later on.
