The feeling of seeing a baby’s first tooth can be a defining moment for parents. As much as every parent wants the best for their babies, it is also easy to dismiss dental care since permanent teeth will replace the first teeth.
The fact remains that baby teeth are not just important to your baby’s oral health alone, but also their speech development. Also, baby teeth serve as space holders for permanent teeth, guiding the size, shape, and spacing of the adult teeth.
Hence, your baby’s oral health is very important and should never be neglected. Here are the top reasons why your baby’s teeth matter.
Help children develop strong speech skills
The way the teeth are positioned is responsible for controlling airflow and allowing us to make certain speech sounds. The alignment of the teeth guides the tongue, lips, and cheeks in forming correct pronunciation during speech.
Similarly, the shape of the face is influenced by the positioning of the teeth in the mouth. This is largely determined by the structure of the teeth and their alignment with the developing facial muscles.
Issues such as teeth overcrowding may affect airflow and speech formation as your baby learns to pronounce certain vowels and consonants. Hence, your baby’s speech skills and patterns are greatly influenced by the shape and health of their teeth.
Reduce dental fear
It is not uncommon for children to present with strong negative feelings toward dental treatment. Dental fear is real and poses serious concerns for both parents and dentists. A very effective strategy to prevent the later development of dental fear is to start building an early positive relationship between your child and a dentist through early, regular dental checkups.
When your baby is comfortable seeing the dentist and has developed familiarity with the dentist’s office early, they start growing an appreciation for positive dental habits. This will take away a considerable amount of stress when your baby grows up to become a child or adolescent, especially in cases of dental emergencies.
Encourage proper nutrition
Your baby’s health is largely influenced by the quality of what they eat. Your baby needs healthy teeth to be able to chew a well-balanced and nutritionally rich diet. Pain from gum diseases, cavities, and other dental issues may discourage your baby from eating a proper diet.
Strong, healthy teeth, on the other hand, will encourage your child to eat more and not lose out on much-needed nutrients from balanced diets.
Prevent future dental disorders and malocclusions
Evidence has proven that 42% of children between 12 months of age to 11 years have had dental caries in their primary teeth. Similarly, 20% of children between 5 and 11 years of age have had a history of untreated tooth decay.
These are a result of poor dental health habits. Early signs of dental caries, tooth decay, and malocclusions in your baby’s teeth can easily be detected by your dentist. These can get treated before becoming a serious dental issue for your child in the future.
Build confidence and self-esteem
Oral health affects more than just speech and the shape of your baby’s face. Converging lines of evidence have shown that children who have poor dental health tend to miss more school and receive lower grades than children with good oral health.
This is largely influenced by the quality of their dental health and how it affects their confidence and self-esteem when they relate with their peers.
To improve your child’s self-esteem, it is important to treat their teeth as important as permanent teeth.
Just like adult teeth, baby teeth are also very important. They contribute to a long-lasting impact on your child’s health and development. At Happy Teeth Pediatric Dentistry, we create amazing pediatric dental care in Statesville. Feel free to schedule a dental visit from the comfort of your home via your mobile device today.
