A Growing Mouth: 6+ Years
What are teeth made of?
Teeth are made up of three main parts. On the outside is a protective layer of enamel- the hardest substance in the body. Below that is a bone-like substance called dentine, which makes up the largest part of the tooth. Underneath the dentine, the tooth actually has a soft centre. This is called the pulp, and it houses all of the tooth’s blood vessels and nerve endings.
Tooth decay starts with the enamel, which has no feeling. But once it reaches the dentine, it can start to cause toothache. If decay ever spreads as far as the pulp, it can be incredibly painful.
But with a good diet, careful brushing and regular dentist visits, you’ll be able to help protect their teeth against decay.
What the different teeth do
Your child should grow 20 milk teeth in total (they’ll get 32 adult teeth later when their mouths have grown big enough). But both sets will be made up of three different types of teeth designed to make short work of the different kinds of food we eat.
- Incisors – these are the flat front teeth. They’re made for biting into food.
- Canines – the pointy teeth, which are perfect for tearing food apart.
- Molars – these blunter, broader teeth at the side of your mouth crush and grind food into small pieces.
If you’d like a fun way to teach your child about their different teeth and what they do, our Teeth Mix and Match game is perfect. And if you’d like a better idea of which teeth your child will grow and when, just take a look at our Tooth Timetable.
Wobbly teeth
As your child’s big teeth start to grow through their gums, they press on the roots of milk teeth above, making them wobbly. Eventually the big tooth will push the little one out completely - time for the tooth fairy to make an appearance.
For a better idea of what’s happening in your child’s mouth at this age, and what to expect next, just take a look at our Tooth Timetable.