Contents
- Why do we have teeth?
- Why teeth are important
- How many teeth do you have?
- What does a tooth look like?
- Why do teeth have different shapes?
- Looking after your teeth, gums and mouth
- Keeping your toothbrush safe from germs
- Tooth-friendly foods
- Did you know?
- Dr Kim says
Why do we have teeth?
Have you ever really thought about why people need teeth? They might be more important than you think.
Why teeth are important
Teeth bite and chew food so that it is small enough to be swallowed.
Teeth help you to form words so that you can speak properly.
Have you lost any front teeth yet?
- Did you find that your words sounded different for a while?
- Maybe you found it hard to say 's'.
Maybe you lisped, eg. "I'd like a thauthage, pleath"
instead of "I'd like a sausage please."
Teeth show when you're happy. Everyone smiles when they're happy. If you have nice clean, healthy teeth you have something to be happy about!
How many teeth do we have?
| Your first teeth are called deciduous teeth (say dee-sid-you-us). (They can also be called milk teeth, baby teeth or primary teeth.) | |
 | They are called deciduous because like the leaves of a deciduous tree you lose them. |
| You have 20 deciduous teeth and they start growing into your mouth from about 6 months of age. |
| All 20 teeth have grown into your mouth by about two and a half years of age. |
| From about 6 years of age until 12 years of age you start to lose them, BUT that doesn't mean you don't have to look after them. |
| They are there to keep a space for your second lot of teeth (like saving a seat for someone – if they don't save the place the second teeth can't fit very well!). |
| Your second teeth are called permanent teeth (say perm-an-ent) (also called adult teeth). | |
 | You will have 32 permanent teeth. |
| They are called permanent teeth because if you look after them you can have them for all of your life. |
| They begin growing through your gums from about 6 years and all 32 have finished growing into your mouth by about 18 – 25 years. |
| The permanent teeth push out your deciduous teeth as they grow into your mouth. |
What does a tooth look like?
| Teeth have two parts, |  | |
 | The crown is the part of the tooth we can see in our mouths. | |
| | The root of the tooth which is 'planted' into the jawbone to keep the tooth steady while it is doing its job. | |
Teeth have three layers:
 | Enamel, (say ee-nam-el) a hard protective outer layer covering the crown of the tooth. |
| Dentine, (say den-teen) a second protective layer covering the nerve of the tooth. |
| Pulp, (also called the nerve) the soft middle of the tooth that has a blood supply and nerve endings. |
The tooth is like an apple. An apple has an outer skin and inner flesh to protect the seeds. A tooth has an outer enamel and inner dentine to protect the pulp.
Why do teeth have different shapes?
Different teeth do different jobs.
Incisors (say in-si-zors) are for cutting.
Canines (say cay-nines) are for tearing.
Molars and pre-molars (say mow-lers) grind up food until it's small enough to swallow.
Each type of tooth has a special shape so that it can do its job.
Look at the shape of these teeth.
| Can you tell what kind of teeth they are? | ||
 |  |  |
Looking after your teeth, gums and mouth
It is important to look after your first and your permanent teeth. Keeping your teeth, gums and mouth clean and healthy can prevent disease and infection, and can help to avoid pain and sickness. Also a clean healthy mouth feels nice, looks good and keeps your breath fresh.
Your teeth need to be cleaned really well every day. This is because germs or bacteria (say bak-tee-ria) in your mouth grow on your teeth and around the gums every day. It is called dental plaque (say pl-ark) and it makes acids or poisons that attack the teeth and gums and cause disease. If you keep your teeth clean and healthy every day you will avoid problems like tooth decay, toothache, bleeding gums, yellow teeth and bad breath.
Grab your toothbrush right away!
Tips for a healthy mouth, teeth and gums:
 |  | Brush your teeth well twice a day (after breakfast and last thing before going to bed). |
| | Use a small toothbrush with soft bristles. Hard and medium bristled toothbrushes can damage teeth and gums. | |
| | Use fluoride (say flu-or-ide) toothpaste. From 6 years of age you can use adult toothpaste, but make sure you spit it out when you have finished cleaning your teeth. Children under 6 need to use a special children's toothpaste. |
| | Gently and thoroughly brush each side of every tooth and the gums. It should take about 3 minutes to do them all. |
| | Dental floss cleans between your teeth but should only be used if you have been shown how to floss at the dentist. |
| | Once a week you could check your toothbrushing skills by rinsing with a liquid called Disclo-gel. This is a pink liquid that stains the plaque pink and makes it easier to see. Disclo-gel can be bought from a chemist. If your teeth are not totally clean, there will be a pink stain on a tooth. Brush that stain off and remember how you did it, so that you can add that to how you clean your teeth. |
Keeping your toothbrush safe from germs
 | After brushing, rinse your toothbrush under running water. |
| Store your toothbrush in a clean dry place. |
| Do not share a toothbrush as this can spread germs. |
| Replace your toothbrush often. |
| Wash your hands after going to the toilet and before using your toothbrush. |
Tooth-friendly foods
 | Choose a wide variety of healthy foods every day. |  |
| Finish a meal with a drink of water - this washes your teeth and mouth. | |
| Choose tap water as a drink. It is tooth-friendly and your body likes it too. Don't have lots of fizzy drinks especially ones that contain sugars and acids. These can cause tooth decay. Bottled water is not so good for teeth. It does not have fluoride in it. | |
| Where possible choose medicines and cough lollies that are sugar free. | |
| Milk and cheese are tooth-friendly foods. They contain minerals, which will help to repair tooth enamel. | |
 |
If you want to know more about healthy food look up 'Your Food' on this site |
Did you know?
 | If you look after your teeth you can keep them forever. |
| Teeth are the hardest part of your body. |
| Sharks have three rows of teeth and they grow new ones if they lose any. People do not grow new teeth if they loose a tooth, so take good care of the ones that you have. |
| Fluoride was introduced into toothpaste in the 1970s. |
| Fluoride was introduced into the water supply in Adelaide in 1971. Kids in South Australia now have much healthier teeth than their parents had because the fluoride makes their teeth stronger. |
| In the year 1770 the first toothbrush was invented and so were the first false teeth (made out of porcelain) by William Addis in England. |
| In the year 1790 John Greenwood of U.S.A invented the dental drill. It was very big and heavy and the dentist had to turn a handle [like using a hand drill for drilling holes in wood] to drill out all the bad bits in the tooth. It was a very slow and painful process and people only went to the dentist when they couldn't stand the pain of toothache any longer! It must have been a bit terrifying to go to the dentist in the olden days. |
| Nowadays it is very different. | |
 | The people at the dental clinic are there to help you. They teach you how to look after your teeth and avoid decay. They can repair teeth and it doesn't hurt. They can help protect your teeth from decay. |
This is what some people had to say about going to the dentist nowadays.
My teeth
I went to the dentist one day,
He said that I had some decay.
My tooth was real sore,
I brushed my teeth more
And then the pain went away.
When my teeth started to go green
I realised that they weren't clean!
(by Kramer)
| Mikyla writes, "When I went to the dentist I wasn't scared because I was just having a check-up. When the dentist had looked in my mouth she said that I had a wobbly tooth and that it was okay so I got a sticker and went home. |  |
Ellen wants you to know that going to the dentist may make you feel a bit nervous. When you get there they check your teeth. You may have an injection to stop it hurting. They make the hole in your tooth a bit bigger to get out any bad stuff then they fill it up with a special stuff.
You rinse your mouth out then you can go home.
Your mouth can feel a bit funny but you know that your tooth is okay.
Dr Kim says:
"Learn to brush your teeth properly twice a day and you will be proud of your shiny smile."
Keep your teeth clean and bright
Brush them every day and night
Drink lots of water every day
Throw the fizzy drink away.
Brush your teeth with a soft toothbrush
Very careful, please don't rush.
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