Part of me is always new
As I grow, my body changes. It changes inside where I cannot see the
changes. It changes outside where I can see what is happening to me.
Inside of me cells grow and divide, so I grow bigger inside as well as
outside. Inside of me, cells are always growing to take the place of
cells that wear out.
Outside of me something is always new. My hair grows longer. My
fingernails and toenails grow, too. I lose my baby teeth, and new teeth
grow in to take their place.
Before I was born, there were tiny tooth buds hidden in my gums. As I
grew, my baby teeth began to form around these tooth buds. When I was
about 6 months old, my first baby tooth pushed through my gums. By the
time I was 3 years old, I had all 20 of my baby, or primary, teeth.
W’hen I was about 6 years old, my first grown-up teeth were ready to
come in. One by one, my grown-up, or permanent, teeth began to push my
baby teeth out. When I’m older, I’ll have 32 grown-up teeth. All the
time, my jaws will be growing so as to make room for my bigger, grownup
teeth.
Something new is always happening to me. I am always changing.
My new teeth
My teeth grow from tiny tooth buds hidden in my gums. When I lose a baby
tooth, a bigger, grown-up tooth is waiting to take its place.