How Children’s Teeth Erupt and Fall Out
All of us have seen a child cry in fear when they lose their first tooth. And if we have not, then we must remember our own time when we were afraid we would look like our grandparents without teeth. What a relief it was when we were assured it is an absolutely natural process. Few parents really know, however, how significant this whole development is. A little understanding of the underlying dental science behind it may help their child tremendously. Let’s see how it happens and why primary teeth so important.
To put it simply, teeth help your child eat. The process of chewing is a part of our natural reflexes. A child may need encouragement to chew more by their parents, but no one needs to teach them how to bites into the food, and then how to grind the food in their mount. All of this apparently is a part of our natural reactions much like sucking on the breasts or our mothers and breathing. Initial teeth provide the children the exercise they need with this practice for the strengthening of the muscles in the mouth that will stay with them for the rest of their adult life and is facilitated by the milk teeth they have. Children learn to use their teeth at the early stages of life, but why do milk teeth fall out after all?
During the early stages of the physical development of the human body, the jaw bones, and the related muscles develop according to the lifestyle the child is living. For example, other than the regular baby food, eating a little fleshier food – like a small piece of apple once in a while – may help them practice the act of chewing. This little bit of chewing helps the muscles connected to the jaw bones that are involved with the chewing get the required exercise and strengthen. Primary teeth are an important part of this. At this stage, however, the jaw is too small and weak to support the roots of the comparatively bulkier and stronger permanent teeth, and hence nature’s genius solution is baby teeth. They are small and act precisely like permanent teeth but only till enough room and strength are available for permanent teeth to take their place.
Once the jaw is strong enough, the roots of the baby teeth naturally start dissolving and each tooth starts to lose one by one. That is why there is no pain or inconvenience when it falls out.
The initial teeth hold the space for the permanent teeth and make sure your child develops a proper set later on. These primary teeth also guide the permanent teeth in the right direction.
Many parents believe that that since the child is going to eat only pulpy, and soft food for the first few years of life, milk teeth may not be playing any important roles in the initial stages of their child’s development. However, this understanding is far from reality.