Cheese!
Squeaks and I are practicing our smiles for picture day.
You look great, Squeaks.
But you’re missing something…
Oh I know!
Teeth!
When we smile, we usually show off our teeth.
But don’t worry, Squeaks, you still look great -- and you’re not the only one who’s
missing teeth!
Maybe some of YOU are missing a tooth or two!
Have you lost a tooth yet?
If you have, you know what it feels like!
Your tooth starts to feel a little wiggly, then a little loose, and soon you can twist
it all the way around.
Then one day--pop!
It’s out of your mouth!
Don’t worry!
It doesn’t hurt, and these teeth are supposed to fall out.
They’re your baby teeth!
Some people also call them milk teeth or primary teeth.
As a baby grows, these teeth slowly come in, do their jobs for a while, then get loose
and eventually fall out.
Lots of other animals have baby teeth, too.
Have you ever found small teeth around your house as your puppies and kittens grow up?
Yep!
Those are just dog and cat versions of baby t eeth!
But … why do we have baby teeth at all?
Well, think of a little baby.
She’s so cute!
And also so small!
A baby is much smaller than an adult, or even you!
The part of her head where her teeth grow, here, is called the jaw.
And a baby’s jaw is so small that only baby-sized teeth can fit in there.
But when the baby is first born, her teeth haven’t grown in yet.
And that’s OK!
Because what does a newborn baby eat?
Milk!
And you don’t need teeth to drink milk.
But once a baby grows a little -- when she’s about six months old -- her first tiny teeth
will start to pop up.
Usually, the front teeth on the top and bottom are the ones to come in first.
When a baby has THESE teeth, she can start to eat soft foods, like mashed up peas and
carrots, or little pieces of cereal or crackers.
Just a few teeth are all you need!
Then, once she gets to be about two and a half years old, she’ll have all of her baby
teeth -- TWENTY of them in all.
Now, she can start to eat other stuff, like crunchy carrot sticks or stringy spaghetti.
You can’t just swallow that food -- it’s time to chow down!
But teeth aren’t just for chewing.
Can you think of anything else we use them for?
Well...I’m doing it right now.
Talking!
We use our teeth to form shapes with our tongue and mouth, which lets us make the sounds we
use to speak.
So a little kid often starts to talk right around the time that she has her first full
set of baby teeth!
Without them, talking would be really hard!
So, baby teeth are small enough that they can fit in a little kid’s mouth, but they’re
strong enough to chew up all the new food she’s starting to eat, and they can help
her start to talk!
But those first teeth won’t be there forever!
As she keeps growing and growing, our kid’s head and jaw are growing, too!
And that means that she’ll need MORE teeth, and also BIGGER teeth!
Those baby teeth will be just too small to get the job done!
So by the time she’s about 10 to 12 years old, she will have lost all of her baby teeth.
And in their place, she’ll have THIRTY-TWO bigger, stronger grown-up teeth!
These teeth are ready for anything -- now our big girl can eat crunchy celery, tough
nuts, and lots of other things!
But these teeth are permanent!
That means she’ll have them for the rest of her life -- so she’ll have to take GOOD
care of them, to keep them strong and healthy.
So -- why do you have baby teeth?
Basically … because you get bigger!
Be sure to brush your teeth AT LEAST two times every day, especially after you eat.
And floss, too!
Because a smile’s only happy if it’s HEALTHY!
Thanks for joining me at SciShow Kids!
Do you have a question you’d like to ask us?
Just get help from a grown up and ask us in the comments below, or send us an email at
Kids@SciShow.com.