17 Aug Why should I worry about baby teeth?

Yes they fall out. But there are lots of good reasons to maintain healthy baby teeth.

• Pain:

For a start, untreated dental decay can lead to infection, pain and swelling and a trip to the emergency ward. Dental decay is the leading cause of preventable hospital visits in children. Dealing with a 3 or 6 year old who isn’t sleeping, has a swollen face, and a bad toothache is a nightmare for everyone, us included, but particularly parents!

• Cost:

Kids with bad dental problems may need to have complex work under a general anaesthetic in order to get things sorted. This is expensive.

• Later problems:

Baby teeth are “place holders” for the adult teeth. Early loss of baby teeth sets up problems for the adult teeth position and greatly increases the need for complex orthodontic treatment as a teen.

• Dental perceptions:

Setting up kids who are happy to visit the dentist means adults who are also happy to visit the dentist. We want to create a generation of people who have no fear of the dentist. Easy, happy, preventative visits are by far the best way to do this. Don’t wait until your child has a problem before bringing them in.

If in doubt, make an appointment with our Kids dentistry service.