Why are baby teeth important ?

If I had a dollar for each time I responded to the question, “but they’re just baby teeth right? They will fall out anyway, so they don’t really matter, right?”……you guessed it. However, research has shown that where primary teeth (or baby teeth) are well cared for, better oral health prevails in the permanent teeth (or secondary teeth) that come through.

Ok, so here’s a brief lesson on dental anatomy……

The front 8 primary teeth last until about 6-8 years of age, while the back 8 primary teeth aren’t replaced by their adult successors until the ages of 10-13.

Given the length of time some of these teeth have to stay in a child’s mouth, the care of these teeth from the outset becomes extremely important as untreated dental disease, or other oral health issues, can lead to problems that have an effect on the developing permanent teeth.

Ok, so there are some obvious reasons why baby teeth are important such as helping to chew, the ability to speaking and general appearance. But ask your dentist’s opinion and they will tell you the most important function of baby teeth is providing and reserving space for the adult teeth. Primary teeth are caretakers of space for the developing adult teeth, particularly those back teeth! It is common to see loss of space where baby teeth have large holes and/or have been lost pre-maturely.

Baby teeth, when well-cared for and present till the right time, help to guide strong, adult teeth into the right spaces.