Why Do Baby Teeth Fall Out?
Have you lost your first tooth yet? If yes, congratulations! You’re on your way to growing big, strong, permanent teeth that will help you talk and chew for the rest of your life. Doesn’t it seem strange that we only have baby teeth for a little while, but we have adult teeth forever? It’s really all about size and growth. Babies are tiny, so those first teeth need to be small enough to fit in a baby’s mouth. Did you know that we are born with all of our baby teeth already inside our gums? Babies grow pretty fast from birth until they are little kids starting school, and that’s about when baby teeth start coming out.
Can you imagine how silly your smile might be if you still had tiny little front teeth at age 10 or 11? Permanent teeth are bigger to fit the mouth you’ll have as a grownup. Baby teeth have short roots that hold them in place. These roots are strong enough while mouths are small, but once the permanent teeth form under the gums and your mouth gets bigger, those short roots aren’t long enough to keep the tooth in place. The tooth gets loose, the root starts to dissolve, and the permanent tooth starts pushing up into the mouth all at the same time. Permanent teeth have long, strong roots that help them stay put for your whole life. Ask your dentist if you can look at your X-ray pictures and see the difference in roots from your baby teeth to your adult teeth.
Does it Hurt When Teeth Come Out?
Even though baby tooth roots are short and not designed to last forever, they still have a job to do while the tooth is in your mouth. If you tug or wiggle a tooth that isn’t ready to come out, that root is still holding strong, and you might hurt yourself. The best plan of action when a tooth starts to get loose is to be patient and keep wiggling it. Eventually, the roots will know that their job is done, and the tooth will come all the way out.
It can be frustrating to wait for a tooth to come all the way out. Sometimes it might get really hard to eat or talk, or the new tooth might be pushing in and the baby tooth is really in the way. If you have to pull a tooth out by force, it might hurt for a moment, and you might taste some blood for a little while. In these cases, it’s best if your parents can help you. Also, get a wet washcloth ready to bite once the tooth is out to help stop the bleeding. Swish warm salt-water in your mouth a few times before bed, and it should start to feel better in the morning.
The baby molars that come in later are meant to stick around a little longer, and they are bigger teeth with bigger roots. These teeth will hurt a little more coming out. In fact, sometimes the dentist will pull these teeth for you to help make room for your growing permanent molars. If the dentist does this, he or she might give you some medicine to numb your mouth. The numb feeling will go away after a few hours, but you have to be careful not to bite your tongue or cheek before that!
Why Do I Have to Take Care of Baby Teeth?
If baby teeth are going to fall out anyway, why is it important to brush and floss? Almost every kid asks this question, and it’s a good one! Even though baby teeth will come out, they are very important while you have them. Baby teeth help you chew and talk, and they hold a place in your mouth for the permanent teeth that will replace them. If you don’t take care of the teeth you have while they are still working hard for you, that can cause big trouble.
When baby teeth get cavities, it can hurt to chew, but it can also make you sick. When teeth have infections, those germs can go down into the gums and get into your blood and your nerves. This can really hurt, and it can also give you a fever. It’s possible to get cavities even if you are really good at brushing and flossing, but taking care of your teeth is still the best way to prevent them. If you do get a cavity, your dentist will clean out all the dirt and then put in a filling that stops the cavity from getting any worse.
If a baby tooth comes out too early, maybe because you had an accident that knocked it out, the permanent tooth might not be in the right place under the gums just yet. What can happen in that case is that the other teeth will move a little bit into the empty space, and all the permanent teeth under your gums in that area will get shifted out of place. This can cause your adult teeth to grow in too close together in some spots. When permanent teeth grow in a little out of place, which can happen to anyone, the dentist will send you to an orthodontist to get braces that move all the teeth into straight rows.
Hopefully, you’re quickly becoming a pro at losing teeth and patiently waiting for your permanent teeth. We know how hard it is to eat pizza without those front teeth! Make sure you keep brushing, flossing, and visiting the dentist to keep both your baby teeth and permanent teeth strong and healthy!
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