As your child grows, it's important to take good care of their baby teeth. While they do eventually fall out, baby teeth help your child bite and chew food, speak properly. Most importantly, baby teeth save space for the permanent teeth, helping guide them into place.
Underneath baby teeth, the position and roots of the adult teeth are growing into place. Research shows that children who develop cavities in their baby teeth are more likely to develop cavities as an adult, so be sure to build the habit of good oral hygiene with regular dental checkups. It is important to keep your child's baby teeth clean, and once the permanent teeth start to come in you really need to make cleaning them a priority. To make sure their permanent teeth will last a lifetime.
Brushing & Flossing
When kids are around 2 years old, you can start brushing their teeth with toothpaste. And as soon as two teeth touched each other, you can start flossing their teeth. But with an older kid, they probably want to do it themselves. It's great to let them practice. After they are done, you should check their work and brush their teeth a second time. Most children won't be able to brush their teeth well on their own until they are about 8 years old.
Losing Teeth
Kids lose 20 baby teeth over five to seven years. The first wiggly tooth usually shows up when they are around 5 or 6 years old, but it can happen as late as around 8 years old. You can encourage kids to keep wiggling it until the tooth can fall out on it's own, and remember that it can take a few months for the tooth to be fully ready to fall out.
This article is intended to promote understanding of and knowledge about general oral health topics. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your dentist or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment.
Brian Y. Kuo DDS FAGD
(626) 800-8022