Some people ask our International District Seattle dentist about why their children need to visit the dentist before their permanent teeth come in. They reason that it doesn’t matter whether or not a baby tooth suffers decay, since it’s going to fall out anyway. This is a dangerous misconception. The truth is that baby teeth have a very important role to play that can affect your child’s mouth well into adulthood.
The first thing to understand is that primary teeth are your mouth’s “training wheels”, and you can’t get too far on training wheels if you let them break. These are the teeth that your child is using to develop proper chewing habits, speech patterns, and brushing technique. If these teeth are uneven or cause the child pain, they may develop problems that will only get worse as they age. If primary teeth are not properly cared for, the permanent teeth may even come in crooked. The consequences on your child’s health and self-esteem can be disastrous.
We recommend that you bring your children in for their first dental visits within six months of their first teeth erupting, or around their first birthdays. Do the right thing for your little ones, and get them to Sixth Avenue Dentistry as soon as they’re ready.