Even though milk teeth are temporary, they shouldn’t be neglected. In reality, they play a very important role in the overall health of your child and are just as significant as permanent teeth. A lot of parents are not aware of the importance of primary teeth and are quick to dismiss their dentist when we talk of ‘saving’ a deciduous tooth.

The first step in understanding the importance of milk teeth is to understand your child’s oral development. 

• Between the ages of 4-6 months you will notice your baby’s milk teeth erupting

• Once they turn three they will likely have all 20 of their baby teeth in

• The first permanent tooth to come in is the lower first molar. This will cut in at the time when all the primary teeth are still in and don’t replace any of them. A total of 4 molars will come in behind the primary teeth at the back of the mouth.

• Between the ages of 6-13, you child will begin to lose their baby teeth and once a tooth falls out, you should see the permanent one coming in a few weeks later.

• Around the age of 12, your child’s second molar will erupt behind the first and not replace any teeth

• Around the ages of 13-14 your now ‘teenager’ should have 28 permanent teeth with no milk teeth left

• If your kid has wisdom teeth it will come out any time between 17-25 years of age. Some people may never form wisdom teeth and that is okay because these third molars do not play a vital role in eating, talking etc and are often extracted.

We will talk about the Importance of Baby teeth and why you should make it a habit for your child to regularly visit the dentist in our next post!