9 Big reasons why Baby Teeth are important
Baby teeth are important!
Let me say that again louder for the people in the back… Baby teeth are so important.
I know you’re thinking… “well why are baby teeth important?”
“Aren’t they just going to fall out anyway?”
And my answer to this? Yes. They are going to fall out, but hopefully not before they are ready to because they have a lot of work to do before then.
My opinion? Baby teeth determine our overall health… for the REST of our lives.
Wow.
Let’s just dive right in here with 9 huge reasons why those cute little baby teeth are so important (in no particular order) and why you should help your little one take extra good care of them.
1. Baby teeth help to develop the size and shape of the jaw
Baby teeth help to grow and shape the jaw bones… and in turn the airway (breathing ability is important, right?) as well as the shape of their face in general.
Baby teeth grow into place one by one and obviously, they each take up their allotted amount of space. Their size, shape, and the pressure they exert as they erupt encourage the growth of the bone that they are growing out of.
Once the baby teeth are in place, they determine the overall bite, which is how the two jaw bones come together creating either an ideal bite or a malocclusion (aka improper bite).
Some examples of malocclusion are an open bite, crossbite, underbite, or retrognathic bite- caused by habits like thumb-sucking, extended pacifier use, poor nutrition, or mouth breathing.
What’s the big deal if baby teeth are dysfunctional?
Because the baby teeth are setting the stage for adult teeth. If baby teeth are dysfunctional and don’t encourage proper growth of the jaw the adult teeth are set up for a dysfunctional alignment as well.
2. Baby teeth affect speech development
Speech development relies heavily on the teeth.
I mean, just try thinking about reading this sentence aloud if you didn’t have teeth.
It would be so difficult. Those baby teeth are so important to be able to properly pronounce words.
The teeth, lips, and tongue work together to manipulate the air moving out of the mouth to form words. As your little one’s baby teeth come into place, they’ll be able to start using them to form sounds and words.
So, what would prevent baby teeth from doing their part in speech development?
Well, remember that malocclusion we were just talking about? It doesn’t just affect the function of the jaw, but the tongue as well. Malocclusion can make it difficult for the tongue to move as intended if there just isn’t enough room for proper movement.
Premature tooth loss and decay are other common issues leading to impaired speech development. Without the baby teeth, articulation can be a real challenge. As a result, quality of life and self-esteem may suffer.
3. Baby teeth affect self-esteem and social interactions
Smiling is a universal language.
Having happy and healthy baby teeth have a huge impact on self-esteem and whether a child wants to share their smile or not.
If children have untreated, visible decay they may feel less confident in sharing their smiles with others. If that decay is chronically painful and they aren’t feeling their best, they won’t have the energy or the desire to interact with their peers.
As we talked about before, baby teeth affect speech development and communication. This affects their social life accordingly.
4. Baby teeth affect nutritional intake
Babies are on an “all liquids” diet (for the most part) until their teeth come in.
Baby teeth function like adult teeth when it comes to helping us bite, tear, and chew our food- allowing us to broaden our diet.
Digestion starts in the mouth.
More specifically, digestion starts with chewing.
Chewing our food helps us get more out of our food by kicking off the digestive process. It does this in three ways:
- The process of chewing in and of itself is physically breaking down the food in preparation for digestion further down the line in our stomachs and intestines. The better chewed our food is before reaching the next steps of digestion, the better the absorption of nutrients will be.
- Chewing stimulates saliva production, which contains digestive enzymes that start the chemical process of digestion in the mouth and aid in digestion further down the line.
- Chewing signals to the rest of the digestive system (stomach, pancreas, and gall bladder) to start preparations for the arrival of food.
So, imagine cutting out the chewing process.
Even if you blended up all of your child’s food, they wouldn’t get the full nutritional benefit of their food. They need their baby teeth to aid in digesting their food and absorbing the nutrients it provides.
If baby teeth are in pain due to untreated tooth decay, kids will shy away from foods that require more chewing and prefer softer, usually less nutritious foods, like white starchy carbohydrates.
The lack of baby teeth makes for less efficient chewing and poor nutrient intake, digestion, and absorption.
5. Baby teeth hold space for the future adult teeth
Baby teeth are space holders.
In general, teeth will always shift forward into open spaces. They do not like to sit still. They have too many forces pushing and pulling on them- think chewing, tongue, and cheeks.
If baby teeth fall out prematurely, the surrounding baby teeth will naturally want to move to fill in that open space.
The adult teeth rely on the baby teeth to maintain enough space for them to erupt into the mouth. When there isn’t enough space, you are left with crowding, malocclusions, or even impacted adult teeth.
6. Baby teeth provide an opportunity to build healthy life-long habits
Baby teeth allow you to help your child get used to a dental hygiene routine before they have their permanent adult teeth that will ideally last them the rest of their lives.
Because baby teeth come in one at a time and there are far fewer baby teeth than adult teeth it’s less overwhelming to take care of them.
Because they are smaller and have more space between them it takes less time to brush in general.
Generally, children don’t have the dexterity to take care of their baby teeth on their own, so you will be holding their hand through this habit-building process. Aim to brush twice a day and add in floss once the teeth begin to touch.
Taking care of baby teeth also includes offering tooth-friendly foods. I recommend offering a rainbow of fruits and vegetables and avoiding too many starchy, sweet, or sticky treats.
Help your little one understand that taking care of their body includes taking care of their mouth.
7. Baby teeth determine the oral environment
Baby teeth determine what type of environment the vulnerable new adult teeth will erupt into- one of health or one of disease.
When adult teeth erupt, they are not fully mineralized and rely on saliva to provide the minerals and materials needed to calcify. They are vulnerable to an acidic oral environment and are more susceptible to decay.
If baby teeth have untreated decay, it creates an unhealthy and acidic oral environment. One that is perfect for spreading disease to the newly erupted adult teeth.
8. Baby teeth impact sleep
Remember how difficult it was for your little one to sleep when they were teething?
The same applies to the pain that comes from untreated tooth decay that has turned into a full-blown infection.
It is incredibly painful and super sensitive.
And the lack of sleep creates a vicious cycle of less pain tolerance to go with it.
Please, take your child to see the dentist often for PREVENTION rather than only visiting when something is wrong. Not only will this save you money and lost sleep, but it will prevent such an unnecessary traumatic dental experience for your little one.
9. Baby teeth affect your child’s ability to focus at school
Following that same vein of thought, untreated tooth decay causes pain. That pain leads to a lack of sleep and generalized tiredness. It is so hard to learn and focus at school when you are tired and in pain.
Healthy baby teeth allow your child to be at their best so they can learn and absorb the things they are being taught in school.
Healthy and happy baby teeth also allow your child to focus on school, rather than any insecurities that they might have due to visible tooth decay and the possible bullying or teasing that ensues.
And that is not even to mention how many children end up needing to miss school due to tooth pain and emergency visits to the dentist or emergency room.
It is hard enough to keep up in school without the distraction of pain or unnecessary absences.
Conclusion
Baby teeth are important. They really are foundational in setting your child up for not just oral health, but for overall health– physically, mentally, and socially.
Be sure to help your child build healthy life-long habits now that will take care of their baby teeth and beyond. They will thank you for it, even if they fight you on it now.
So what habits should you be helping them build?:
- Brushing and flossing twice daily- try to make it fun!
- Eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables to help grow a healthy oral and gut microbiome
- Visit the dentist twice a year as a preventative measure, not as a reaction to dis-ease
- Avoid eating too many starchy, sticky, or sugary treats that feed unfriendly bacteria
- Use a hydroxyapatite toothpaste to strengthen and remineralize enamel
- Always opt for water
- Make sure they are getting lots of tooth-essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium
And above all else, help create positive dental experiences that help them see oral health as an enjoyable and valuable habit- not just a chore.
