Why treat baby teeth?
Baby teeth hold space for permanent teeth and are needed for chewing and speech. An infected baby tooth can cause pain and need removal. If a space maintainer is not used to hold the space left after an extraction of the baby tooth orthodontic care may be necessary. Baby teeth in the back typically come out between 10-12 years old.
Can’t my dentist just pull them? It’s important to keep baby teeth as long as possible. Besides providing chewing ability during childhood, baby teeth help a child learn to speak. They also guide the permanent teeth into their correct positions. Remember, too, that kids are often embarrassed by how they look after their teeth are pulled. Since they never had my baby teeth treated, my parents think I’m crazy because I want to get my child’s baby teeth treated. Well, you’re not crazy! Early treatment of baby teeth helps prevent many more (and bigger) problems such as cavities, abscesses, and loss of space between teeth. Why is my child the only one in her class who hasn’t lost a tooth?
