Deciduous teeth also known as baby teeth or milk teeth are very important to a child. These teeth help a child speak and chew normally. They do have a better purpose other than to chew and speak, they keep space available for the permanent teeth to grow into the space. That’s why it is very important to keep the deciduous teeth as long as you can until it’s time for the permanent tooth to erupt. Brushing and flossing your child’s teeth is important to keep the tooth healthy and free of caries.

When a child has all deciduous teeth in mouth there will be 20 of them. These teeth begin to grow at 6 month of age, and they all have timeline of when they will fall off. If a deciduous teeth comes off at an age where it isn’t supposed to come off then the neighboring teeth will begin to close space and this will create a problem to the permanent tooth to erupt. Sometimes they will block the permanent tooth from erupting or the permanent tooth erupts in an unaligned space.

Keeping the deciduous teeth caries free is very important. At Smiles on Bristol Dentistry Dr. Danial Kalantari advises and teaches kids and parents the importance of keeping the baby teeth healthy. One of the main reasons where a child needs a tooth extracted is cause by caries. When the caries has affected the tooth where it is not restorable then the last option would be to remove the tooth and maintain the space available for permanent tooth. The way this is done is with an appliance called space maintainer.

Deciduous teeth are temporary but you have to maintain them like if they were permanent. You create a habit if you maintain your child’s baby teeth for the future permanent teeth. Sealants are highly recommended on deciduous teeth. They prevent caries, this will help keep the baby teeth in mouth until it’s time for the permanent teeth to erupt. Sealants are a thin layer of resin that protects the grooves of the teeth. At Smiles on Bristol Dentistry Dr. Danial Kalantari recommends preventative measures to protect primary teeth. He give kids toothbrushes, floss, and dental paste.

If you have any questions regarding your child’s deciduous teeth you can always contact your friendly staff at Smiles on Bristol Dentistry. You are also welcome to our location for a free children oral hygiene kit./contact-us/