A Growing Mouth 0-3 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 proper brushing and regular dentist visits, you’ll be able to help stop decay before it causes any pain or discomfort.
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 to get a better idea of which teeth your child will grow and when, just take a look at our Tooth Timetable.
Should you give your child a dummy?
People have lots of different opinions on whether children should use dummies. But from a purely dental point of view, it’s definitely a good thing to start weaning your child off their dummy when their first teeth appear.
The reason for this is that the pressure of the dummy can end up pushing the baby’s teeth forward. And this might mean your child will need a corrective brace later on, or even have teeth removed. The same goes for thumb sucking as it can push the teeth forward in exactly the same way.
That said, dummies aren’t all bad – and can be invaluable for soothing your child or helping them sleep. But if you do give one to your baby, never dip it in anything sugary like fruit juice as this could cause severe damage to your baby’s teeth.