About This Quiz
Losing baby teeth is a classic childhood rite of passage. Reminisce about the days of gap-toothed smiles and finding money under your pillow while learning more about baby teeth as you take this quiz.There's no hard-and-fast rule, but most kids start losing teeth by age six and keep losing until age 12 or so.
Again, the exact age many vary, but on average, we have all of our baby teeth by age three.
A full set for a three-year-old means twenty teeth; adults have 32 teeth (including wisdom teeth).
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Most babies get their two bottom permanent teeth first, so those are usually the first teeth to fall out.
Losing a tooth early due to an accident or tooth decay can make the other baby teeth move around and not leave enough room for adult teeth.
Generally, baby teeth come out exactly when they're supposed to-- but that doesn't keep us from wanting to pull them.
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Although it means a loss for the Tooth Fairy, swallowing a tooth won't cause any problems for your child.
Unless it's causing problems and a dentist needs to pull it, your child is the best person to pull a baby tooth because only he or she knows how loose (and how potentially painful) it is.
Gauze or tissue helps to grasp the tooth, while fingers are the safest pulling tool.
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Sometimes you can help remove a loose baby tooth by having your child bite into something crunchy or hard. A frozen ice pop can also dull any pain.
It's tempting to pull as soon as you see a tooth wiggle, but it's better to wait until it's barely hanging on to avoid pain (and blood).
Sometimes, baby teeth don't want to leave, so your child's dentist may want to pull them once the permanent teeth erupt.
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Sharks have multiple rows of teeth, so sometimes having both permanent teeth and baby teeth at the same time is called having "shark teeth."
The image of a good fairy who exchanged money (or other gifts) for baby teeth appears to have begun in the United States in the early 1900s.
Ancient Europeans often buried or otherwise disposed of baby teeth out of concern that witches could use them to cast curses or spells.
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Most children get a dollar or two per tooth, although the first one sometimes brings a higher price.
A mouse's tooth might be preferable since it grows for a lifetime -- although that would probably present its own set of challenges.
Ideally, children should brush after each meal, but most dentists recommend brushing at least twice a day.
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Baby teeth are also called deciduous, milk, fall, reborner, temporary or primary.
Babies as young as six months can develop what's known as "baby bottle tooth decay" due to drinking milk, juice or other sugary liquids for long periods of time.