Quick quiz question: How many teeth make up the average adult’s smile? If you said 28, you are right. Technically if you said 32 you would be right and very wise, since many people have a set of four wisdom teeth that end up being removed. Either way, it might be surprising to some parents to realize that their kids do not need to lose 28 or 32 teeth. Children only lose 20 teeth. This can confuse some parents who might not remember those visits from the tooth fairy. We often meet with parents who assume every adult tooth has a baby tooth equivalent, but that is not true. In this article, we will cover the 20 teeth that make up a child’s smile, and the 28 (or 32) that make up a parent’s. For families living in Chicago, we would love to see you and your little ones at one of our twelve offices for routine dental checkups. One of the best ways to make sure your child’s smile is developing healthily is with routine dental visits!
How Many Baby Teeth Do Children Have?
Your child’s smile is made up of just baby teeth when they are six to seven years old. This smile is made up of twenty teeth. There are four incisors on the top and bottom (front teeth), which are surrounded by two canines on either side (pointed teeth), and followed by four molars in the back. So ten teeth on the top and ten on the bottom.
How Many Adult Teeth Do Children Get?
Between ages 7 and 12 years old your child will lose their baby teeth and gain both replacements for those teeth and new sets of molars. Around age twelve a child should have 28 visible teeth (and four wisdom teeth that might need to be removed when they are about 18 or so). The incisors are replaced with incisors, and the canines are replaced with canines. The one unique area is the molars. The eight baby morals are replaced by eight premolars, and an additional eight molars come in behind them. This is why there are 8 more teeth in a twelve-year-old’s smile compared to a 7-year-old’s smile. In fact, the wisdom teeth are the third set of adult molars, but often do not have enough room to grow in. They end up coming in at a steep angle and can become impacted, meaning they are pushing into the next set of molars. In those cases, they need to be surgically removed.
Schedule Dental Visits for Kids in Chicago
Dental Town Chicago works with kids of all ages. The best way to make sure your child’s oral health is progressing properly is with routine dental exams and X-rays every year. With 12 offices in Chicago, we are always happy to see new smiling faces.