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Asked by simi to Lauren, Marisol, Michael, Sarah, Sophie on 8 Nov 2016.
Question: Why do we have milk teeth?
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Lauren Burt answered on 8 Nov 2016:
Hey!
I’m not an expert in this one i’m afraid. I learnt at school that milk teeth are the teeth that you have since you were born and when they fall out they are replaced by normal teeth, which you have for the rest of your life. I think these are much harder and take longer to form as they have got to last a long time!
Lauren 😀
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Michael Rivera answered on 8 Nov 2016:
Great question, simi!
Our milk teeth are there to basically maintain shape and prepare our jaws for the permanent teeth to come in. They are specifically adapted to help us smile, chew food and speak at a young age, and keep the shape of the jaw fixed in the shape a jaw should be!
When you get to the right age, the milk teeth’s roots actually pave the way for the permanent teeth to come out from underneath. This is not something you see in birds or reptiles or fish – only in mammals and humans. This means that our biology has adapted really well to give us two sets of teeth that are best for whatever age we are at – one set is for when we’re younger, and the other set for when we’re adult!
Michael 🙂
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