Let's Talk Baby Teeth

When those first two little teeth pop through, they sure do look adorable. While causing many sleepless nights, as the tooth breaks through the gum, have you ever wondered what the actual point to baby teeth is? (given they only stick around for a few short years).

Baby teeth do in fact play a very important role in your child’s development. Not only do they help your baby to progress from milk onto solids, but they are key in the development of their mouth and speech.

Your baby’s teeth are creating a space for the eventual growth of his adult teeth. So they are basically buying an investment property with long-term gains in mind.

These baby teeth are making sure there will be plenty of room for the adult teeth to grow into, avoiding overcrowding.

So why is this so important? Teeth play a huge part in the development of our speech. Certain letters and sounds such as V, F and CH use the teeth to create the correct noise. How? The mouth is made up of different parts that work together to create our speech. The tongue, lips, cheeks, vocal chords and our favourite, the teeth, all combine to help us talk. The way the teeth are spaced within the mouth has a great impact on the sounds so if for example, the teeth are crowded it would alter the interactions between the teeth and the tongue, lips and cheeks, therefore creating a difference in the sound.

So, make sure you take good care of those cute baby teeth and start taking your baby to visit the dentist as soon as they get their first tooth. They may be little, but don’t underestimate  their importance!

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