San Ramon Cosmetic Dentistry Blog | Sean Michael Anderson, D.D.S.

Baby teeth are the primary teeth that appear within your child's mouth from around the age of six months old.

Although only a temporary factor in the long term composition of your baby's mouth, they are an important stage in the growth of the child and proper oral hygiene should be maintained from the moment they appear. Baby teeth are not immune to tooth decay and in spite of their temporary nature, they are very important in the health and development of the surrounding gum and permanent teeth.

At age six most children have enough dexterity to start caring for his or her own oral hygiene, nonetheless, parents should supervise their child's progress.

At age six, generally baby teeth start to be lost and replaced by erupting adult teeth. The exfoliation or loss of baby teeth progresses throughout the life of a child until about age 13 when usually all of the baby teeth have been lost and replaced by adult teeth.

Baby teeth serve many important functions for a developing child: chewing function and efficiency, appearance and self esteem, speech, language development, and they hold a space in the mouth for the eruption of adult teeth.

Primary teeth essentially allow the adult teeth to find their way through the gum in the correct fashion, and act as a guide for the final development of the mouth. For this reason, the importance of the care and upkeep of baby teeth should not be overlooked.

Here at our dental practice we pride ourselves on looking after you and your whole family with the utmost care and attention to detail. It is because we want to see you go through life, free from the trauma of dental problems, from childhood through to your later years that we will always provide you with the necessary help and advice needed for your optimum dental health.

If you would like to find out more about caring for your child's teeth, or any other information relating to the services we offer for the whole family, please do not hesitate to contact us, or make an appointment with Dr. Sean Anderson.