Deciduous vs Permanent Teeth

Want to know a few facts about our adult teeth? Did you know that we have 32 permanent teeth… and they all have names? Also, talking about teeth with children helps them to understand why it’s important to brush well, and take care of their teeth. After all, we want to have our teeth for life.

Deciduous teeth are also called children’s teeth, baby teeth or first teeth.

Deciduous teeth are smaller and whiter than permanent teeth. We only have 20 deciduous teeth.

They start to erupt when we’re around 6 months old, and are usually all through when we’re 29 months old. This may vary, as everyone is different. Deciduous teeth do have roots, but the roots get absorbed by the underlying permanent teeth. This happens so the deciduous teeth become loose and start falling out.

• Tips for looking after children’s teeth.

• Children can often have an accident playing. Here’s some advice in case a tooth gets knocked out.

• SpaDental Chard in Somerset, SpaDental Plymouth in Devon and SpaDental Whitchurch in Shropshire are all registering children as NHS patients. That’s because we believe in preventive dental care. Contact us to make an appointment.

Permanent teeth are also called adult teeth or second teeth.

Here are the names of permanent teeth:

• central incisor
• lateral incisor
• cuspid, or canine
• premolars
• molars

Our permanent teeth are our second and final set. They start to develop in our jaw before we’re born, and have to last us a life time. That’s why looking after our oral health is so important.

Teeth need to last a life-time.

Unlike sharks who lose a tooth and another one moves into place, once a human loses a second tooth, that’s it. No more. It’s worth remembering that a repair, however good it is, is never quite the same as the real tooth. That’s why SpaDental believes in preventive care.

• We offer direct access to oral hygiene treatments, so you can get your teeth professionally cleaned up, whenever you feel the need.
• Restorative dental treatments such as fillings, crowns and bridges can help to fix a problem.
• Cosmetic treatments such as tooth whitening, Invisalign and implants can take your smile up to the next level.
• If you have bleeding gums, be sure to ask your dentist what the problem is, as you may require periodontal care.

It’s really important that, whatever our age, we look after our teeth.