Healthy Baby Teeth
Although baby teeth will eventually be replaced by adult teeth, they fulfill several crucial functions.
Healthy baby teeth:
- Aid enunciation and speech production
- Help a child chew food correctly
- Maintain space for adult teeth
- Prevent the tongue from posturing abnormally in the mouth
When baby teeth are lost prematurely, adjacent teeth shift to fill the gap, affecting the adult teeth. This can lead to impacted adult teeth, the need for orthodontic treatment, and a poor aesthetic result. Babies are at risk for tooth decay as soon as the first primary tooth emerges – usually around the age of six months.