OUR NEW TEETH

When we are born, we don't have any teeth in our mouth. They start to appear when we are still babies. We were too young to remember but I am sure our mother remembers it very well (we screamed and cried a lot!).

These teeth are our baby teeth. Dentists call them deciduous teeth. They are replaced when we grow up, between 6 and 12 years old.

They are very important although some think of them as "temporary". They help in chewing the food, talking and smiling and maintaining the space till  the permanent teeth appear.

When the baby teeth start to wiggle, they are ready to fall out. They may get in the way of the tongue, or the other teeth when you chew and the gums may be a bit swollen. The best thing to do during those days is to eat soft foods, that way the tooth won't annoy us much.

Don't worry though, all this is normal. By the time the baby tooth is out, everything will calm out in a while. After a few days a new tooth appears under the gums, ready to take the place of the baby tooth.

These teeth are the permanent teeth. They are called permanent because these are the teeth that will stay in our mouth for the rest of our life.