(Intro)

And, say cheese! Oh, hi guys! Squeaks and I are just practicing our smiles for picture day. You look great Squeaks, but you're missing something. Oh, I know! Teeth. When we smile, we usually show off our teeth, but don't worry Squeaks, you still look great, and you're not the only one that's missing teeth. Maybe some of you are missing a tooth or two, too.

Have you lost a tooth yet? If you have, you know what it feels like. You're tooth starts to get a little bit wiggly, then a little loose, and soon you can twist it all the way around. Then one day, pop! It's out of your mouth. But don't worry, it doesn't hurt, and these teeth are supposed to fall out. They're your baby teeth. Some people also call them milk teeth or primary teeth. As a baby grows, these teeth slowly come in, do their jobs for a while, and then get loose and eventually fall out. Lot's of other animals have baby teeth, too. Have you ever found small teeth around your house as your puppies and kittens grow up? Yup, those are just dog and cat versions of baby teeth.

But, why do we have baby teeth at all? Well, think of a little baby. She's so cute and also so small. A baby is much smaller than an adult or even you. The part of her head where her teeth grow, here, is called the jaw, and a baby's jaw is so small that only baby sized teeth can fit in there. But when a baby is first born, her teeth haven't even grown in yet. And that's OK, because what does a new born baby eat? Milk! And, you don't need teeth to drink milk. But, once a baby grows a little, when she's about six months old, her first tiny teeth will start to pop up. Usually, the front teeth on the top and bottom are the ones that come in first. When a baby has these teeth, she can start to eat soft foods, like mashed up peas and carrots, or little bits of cereal or crackers. Just a few teeth are all you need.Then, when she gets to be about two and a half years old, she'll have all of her baby teeth, 20 of them in all. Now, she can start to eat other stuff, like crunchy carrot sticks or stringy spaghetti. You can't just swallow down that food. It's time to start chewing. 

But, teeth aren't just for chewing. Can you think of anything else we use them for? Well, I'm doing it right now. Talking! We use our teeth to form shapes with our tongue and mouth, which let's us you the sounds that we use to speak. So, a little kid often starts to talk right around the time that she has her first full set of baby teeth. Without them, talking would be really hard. So, baby teeth are small enough that they can fit into a little kid's mouth, but they're strong enough to chew up all that new food that she's starting to eat and they can help her start to talk.

But, those first teeth won't be there forever. As she keeps growing and growing, her head and jaw are growing, too. And that means that she'll need more teeth, and, also, bigger teeth. Those baby teeth will be just too small to get the job done. So, by the time that she's 10 to 12 years old, she will have lost all of her baby teeth, and in their place, she'll have 32 bigger, stronger, grownup teeth. These teeth are ready for anything. Now she can eat crunchy celery, tough nuts, chewy jerky, and lots of other things. But these teeth are permanent. That means that she'll have them for the rest of her life. So, she'll have to take really good care of them to keep them strong and healthy.

So, why do we have baby teeth? Basically, because you get bigger. So be sure to brush your teeth at least 2 times every day, especially after eating, and floss too because a smile is only happy if it's healthy. Thanks for joining us on SciShow Kids. Do you have any questions for us? If you do, just get help from a grownup and ask us in the comments below or send us an email to kids@thescishow.com, and we'll see you next time.