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Why do we even have baby teeth?

The emergence of baby teeth might be among new parents’ worst and best times. The days and weeks of fussy, sleepless nights as little ones struggle with teething pain are the downside. The adorable little white buds that appear for the first time in a baby’s grin, of course, are the reward. But there’s far more utility to baby teeth—sometimes called primary teeth, deciduous teeth, or milk teeth—than just making babies even cuter than they already are. They play an important role in a child’s development. What’s more, emerging research also suggests baby teeth might even tell us something about a baby’s time in utero and, potentially, their future health.

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 Why Baby Teeth Matter

Sleepless nights, crankiness, drooling—how can such tiny teeth cause such a big fuss? But all those uncomfortable days and nights are forgotten when your baby’s first teeth make their appearance. Why? Well, certainly because your child is happier, but also because you know baby teeth, or primary teeth, are important for your child’s growth in so many different ways.

Articles of Interest

Healthy Teeth for Young Children

Even before your baby’s first tooth shows up, they’ve got a full set of 20 baby teeth developing under the gums. These little teeth matter a lot. They help your child eat, talk, smile and save space for their adult teeth. If baby teeth get cavities or fall out too early, it can lead to pain, infections or future dental problems—like crooked or crowded permanent teeth.

Kids need to floss too, even their baby teeth. But how do you actually get them to do it?

You may be thinking flossing is not worth the time or trouble, especially for younger children who’ll lose their baby teeth in a few years anyway. However, baby teeth play a vital role in how children’s jaw bones develop and their face appears. And losing baby teeth early – due to the dental decay that can arise from not flossing – can have several effects. As a child, it can change their speech and appearance. These can affect a child’s self-esteem and impact their wellbeing, depending on their age.

Teething/Teething Syndrome

Teething syndrome, or teething, is the natural process that babies and children go through as their teeth cut through their gums. Your baby is born with a full set of teeth below their gums. Sometime during your baby’s first year, these teeth will start to erupt, or break through, their gum line.

The Hidden Impact of Baby Teeth: Why Early Dental Care Matters More Than You Think

It’s easy to assume that because baby teeth eventually fall out, they’re not all that important. After all, they’re just “practice teeth,” right? Not quite. Baby teeth—also called primary teeth—do much more than simply hold space for permanent ones. They play a critical role in your child’s development, from speech and chewing to facial structure and self-confidence.

They're not 'just baby teeth'

Pain, difficulty eating and drinking, sleepless nights, missed school, loss of confidence, and abnormalities in the development and eruption of the permanent dentition are just a few of the possible consequences of a neglected primary dentition.

Why do people have baby teeth and adult teeth?

You might be thinking that if baby teeth are just going to fall out, they can’t be that important. But that’s not true. If you were a shark, every time you got a bunch of cavities or chipped a tooth, you’d just grow a new one and keep on chewing. But unlike sharks or crocodiles or even manatees, we humans only get two sets of teeth. By taking care of your baby teeth, you can keep them healthy and make sure they stay right where they belong until they’re ready to fall out.

Yes, baby teeth fall out. But they’re still important — here’s how to help your kids look after them

Baby teeth, or milk teeth, act like lighthouses to guide the adult ones to their correct destination. A baby tooth will become wobbly and fall out because the adult tooth that follows pushes through to break down the roots of the baby tooth. To lose baby teeth, particularly the first one, is a rite of passage for children. And while most baby teeth do fall out, some kids won’t lose all their baby teeth.

“Early baby teeth”: Folklore and facts

“Early doing's and sayings” of a child is always flooded with immense pleasure in day-to-day life. Not all the early happenings in the child's life are easily appreciated. One such thing that leads to plethora of reactions is the newborn with the new teeth at birth or too early. The folklore and misconceptions surrounding natal and neonatal teeth varies. To complicate matters further, there are various difficulties like pain on suckling, refusal to feed, traumatic ulceration faced by the mother and the child due to the child's early teeth.