extraction of baby tooth?

[anneinco]

Does anyone have experience with this with younger kids? Her tooth has been loose about a month or so. I realized a week ago that my daughter's adult tooth was growing behind her loose tooth. She is 6 and this is only her second loose tooth and she is not one to be wiggling it all the time. Since talking to the dentist a week ago, we have been encouraging her to wiggle it and it is getting looser.

 

The dentist said to give it a week and call back and as of today it is still not out. She has an appointment tomorrow.

 

At this point I guess it is just nerves with me. She does not seemed too bothered by the fact he might have to pull it tomorrow. Of course I am treating her to something special whether she gets it out herself before hand or he has to remove it.

 

If your child has had to have teeth pulled for this reason, is it something that is ongoing? She has a small jaw as it is so I know she will have to have work done later (teeth being pulled to make room).

 

UPDATE:

 

He did not take the tooth. Instead we had to reschedule because he says the next bottom two really should come out as well. So she will have 2-3 taken out next week :( Basically the two adult teeth that are coming in are going to need the space of four bottom teeth. It is going to be an on-going battle. He said that we "were robbing Peter to pay Paul." Said the work we do now, should cut down on the time in braces later. I need to remember to ask if in the xrays they took a year ago whether all her adult teeth were there. Time to start calling orthodonitists to see what they have to say in the long run.

Edited April 30, 2010 by anneinco

[Jen500]

Why can't you just let it fall out naturally? :confused: Is it bothering her?

[anneinco]

They said because the adult tooth is coming up behind, it is better to get the baby tooth out so that the adult tooth has a chance of moving forward on its on. I was told that they like to get the baby tooth out within a week of the adult tooth popping through and it has been longer than that. I noticed it a week ago but she said it had been there at least a week before that.

 

She is set up for a regular exam and I will see what he says. I am hoping they will think it is loose enough to let her keep working on it.

[Crafty Mathy Mom]

My dd age 10 had the baby tooth pulled by the dentist a couple of months ago. It had been loose for weeks. The dentist put some numbing gel on it and pulled it with his fingers. He said that the baby tooth had a longer that normal root which made it harder for my dd to pull herself. This has been the only baby tooth to give her trouble.

[dansamy]

My daughter had a traumatic pull because the filling kept coming out. It just wouldn't stick to that tooth. The tooth fairy was very generous to her that night. She wore a spacer for 2 years to hold the spot because the adult tooth was nowhere near coming through yet. Even though it was traumatic, she did pretty well. They numbed her with some gel and then the injectable. The dentist had to use dental pliers to pull the tooth.

[Momling]

Both of my daughter's lower teeth came in behind her baby teeth. The dentist said that it was normal and he wouldn't pull them unless the baby tooth was still there when the adult tooth had grown taller than it. One of them fell out on its own. With the other one, the adult tooth grew taller and (since we were at the dentists anyway) he pulled out the baby tooth. It was a little distrubing because the adult tooth was at a right angle to the baby tooth.

Eventually those weird adult teeth found their way to the right place though, so I wouldn't worry!

[JulieJ]

We had to have one baby tooth pulled because it just would not fall competely out. The dentist did it before I knew what he was doing when I asked him to look at it. ( we were at the dentist for another child). He said "Ok I got it! All better now. Oh and by the way that will be $75.00 please!!

 

It was a one time thing, all his other baby teeth came out on their own.

[courtney.byrum]

My 5 yr old son had his bottom two front teeth extracted in February. His tooth had been loose since Christmas and then we noticed the permanent tooth was coming in behind it at an angle. After taking xrays they decided it would be best to pull the 2 teeth. Because the baby teeth weren't falling out the adult teeth were coming in at an angle that was causing them to eat into the roots of the neighboring baby teeth.

 

They used the numbing gel and then an injection. Once it was good and numb they pulled out the two teeth and he was just fine after. The tooth fairy was very nice to him and he seems fine with the dentist still (thankfully). This was the first thing he had done other than a regular cleaning.

[Mom0012]

My son has had many of his teeth come in before the baby tooth came out. When it first happened, I was totally freaked out because I had never seen that before. Anyway, the baby tooth has always come out and the adult tooth has moved into the correct position. The last time we were at the dentist, he happened to have one of these teeth coming in and the dentist recommended I come in to have the baby tooth pulled. I decided to ignore that advise given my past experience with him and the tooth came out on its own a few weeks later.

 

Honestly, it is so hard to know when to trust the dentist anymore.

 

Lisa

[Tidbits of Learning]

My advise is to get it pulled. If your child has a small jaw, this tooth can get jammed and keep other loose teeth from coming out as well. We DIDN'T do this when it was recommended for our child. She is now almost 10 and had to have 3 baby teeth pulled last week. Her permanent ones were growing in behind several. She couldn't wiggle the baby teeth b/c of how tight they were in her mouth with adult teeth coming in too.

So far she has pulled 2 more teeth since having the 3 pulled by the dentist last Wednesday. She gets a spacer in 8 weeks when the gums heal. Then we start 6 mo. check ups with the orthodontist until she gets her braces.

You either need to help it out or have it pulled by the dentist. The small jaw can cause a lot of issues.

[AngieW in Texas]

My poor youngest has had 9 baby teeth pulled. She may need to have one more baby tooth pulled and may also need two adult teeth pulled.

 

Her first two adult teeth on top knocked out 4 baby teeth and took up ALL of the space those baby teeth were in. The same thing happened on the bottom, except that only 3 baby teeth were knocked out. When her next 4 adult teeth came in, they were behind the original adult teeth. The dentist pulled 5 baby teeth (2 on top and 3 on bottom). It took a while for the adult teeth to move where they were supposed to go, but they did get there. Of course, they didn't leave any space for the next adult teeth to go to.

 

Those next 4 adult teeth came in halfway up the gums in front of the teeth she already had. They looked like fangs. Four more baby teeth were pulled to make room for them.

 

Now she's in braces. The ortho is hoping to make enough room with the braces that she won't have to have any adult teeth pulled, but he's pretty certain that he'll still need to pull two adult teeth on top. She just has a tiny little mouth.

 

For the first 5 teeth that were pulled, my dd was just 7yo and was knocked out. He had to go to a surgical center to get it done. For the next 4 that were pulled, she was almost 10yo and was awake. She wasn't happy about it, but she survived it. That was a lot harder for her to get over. All the teeth that she's had pulled had full roots. The tooth fairy has treated her very well.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Both of my daughter's lower teeth came in behind her baby teeth. The dentist said that it was normal and he wouldn't pull them unless the baby tooth was still there when the adult tooth had grown taller than it. One of them fell out on its own. With the other one, the adult tooth grew taller and (since we were at the dentists anyway) he pulled out the baby tooth. It was a little distrubing because the adult tooth was at a right angle to the baby tooth.

Eventually those weird adult teeth found their way to the right place though, so I wouldn't worry!

 

Our dentist took a wait and see approach as well. Both of my boys were "shark boys" - almost all of their permanent teeth came in behind the baby tooth. In most cases, the tooth moved into place nicely. One exception - for my oldest, he had a tooth come in through the hard palate and needed braces to pull it forward.

[anneinco]

Thank you for all the replies. This will be our second visit to this dentist so it is hard to judge how he works. He did tell me on the original visit about how small her jaw was and that she will most likely need to have teeth pulled at some point just to make room for the rest of the teeth.

 

Not an easy decision to make since we no longer have dental insurance, but I did not want to wait on something to find out later that it will take more work to get her teeth straight (which it sounds like this could due to her small jaw).

 

Will ask tomorrow once he looks at it if it is ok still to wait and see what happens.

 

Had my husband look at it tonight and it is not quite loose enough to pull out which is too bad since she was willing to let him try.

[rafiki]

.

[LisaKinVA]

Not an easy decision to make since we no longer have dental insurance, but I did not want to wait on something to find out later that it will take more work to get her teeth straight (which it sounds like this could due to her small jaw).

 

Most orthos will do a FREE consult with you regarding your dd's teeth and jaw issues. Depending upon the type of crowding (if it's a width or depth issue), you may need to have teeth pulled to SAVE money down the road, or an appliance could be used now to again, SAVE money down the road.

 

Having 4 baby teeth pulled to allow her adult teeth to move forward cost us $100 (without insurance, our costs would have been about $400, but some dentists will work with you). DD's adult teeth had been in for 7 months and had not moved anywhere. K's teeth were pulled in February, and her teeth are now in normal position 2 months later.

 

By pulling the teeth, and making room for her adult teeth, we are turning her orthodontic plan from a 3-4 year treatment to a 2 year treatment (a difference of about $3,000, and we would still have to pay for the teeth to be extracted anyway.) If your dd needs an appliance to help widen her jaw, the extra width will allow the adult teeth to move where they need to.

 

BUT, your orthodontist will tell you what you need -- and again, the consult should be FREE.

 

Not taking care of moderate to severe crowding, etc. can lead to jaw issues, and even eating issues (I developed TMJ by the time I was in high school due to my tooth issues, and that was no picnic.)

[TracyR]

My 2nd daughter has a small jaw as well and has had her adult teeth grow in before baby teeth fell out. All but one has fallen out on their own. Sometimes they didn't losen until a week or so later. But they did losen. Even the one that had to be pulled eventually losened. Just it ended up being pulled because it had a cavity on it and it must of had a long root on it or something because it just was the tooth that wouldn't come out. Plus it bothered her and I tried many times to get it but it was to sore for her so we had the dentist pull it.

She said she didn't even feel it when the dentist pulled it. It was her adult teeth(she had two back teeth that needed to be pulled due to enamel damage from reflux) that she felt.

 

If your child is anxious you can request something to relax her( and maybe some Jack Daniels for you..he, he). They can also use some gas too so that she doesn't remember. You have options. If you have medicaid any Children's hospital has a dental clinic as well and they accept state insurance.

 

In the end the ones that were growing in front did become lose. Some took a little longer then others but they did, and the teeth have grown into place. As a matter of fact she has two lose teeth right now with her adult ones growing in. Eventually she is going to need orthodontic work. Its a given ,she's got a small jaw. No way around it. But we did get quite a bit of major dental work done. Now we need to wait for some teeth to grow in so she can get braces.

 

Whatever you chose to do is up to you. Either way braces are in her future but my two cents is to start wiggling the tooth and see if you can get it lose.

[anneinco]

Update in first post.

[Amy in KS]

My dentist had us wait as well. The baby teeth eventually fell out (when adult teeth were half way up). At first they were recessed in the mouth and crooked. Within a few months they were just where they were supposed to be. I don't think waiting necessarily means crooked teeth. I would get an ortho appointment if it bothers you. They usually give free consults and x-rays for the first visit.

[TengoFive]

I wouldn't let the dentist pull any teeth, except the one that's already loose, until I'd had a consult with an orthodontist. You want to have a game plan in place for the long term before you start pulling teeth. Chances are the ortho will say to have those pulled, but I would rather have the specialist that will be taking care of spacing long term say that than a dentist. Our dentist is very careful to refer kids before she pulls teeth.

 

On another note, our dentist gave ds numbing gel to take home and put on before trying to pull it out himself. He ended up not needing it. He pulled it over the weekend. One thing that I think helped him was to start eating on that side more instead of avoiding it. He had 2 incredibly loose that just would not come out last week. He pulled one and the next day the other popped out while he was eating.

[Krista in LA]

Definitely go to an orthodontist - ours saw our kids for free for years before it was time to get braces on the first one. My ds has a small mouth and has had *10* baby teeth and 2 permanent teeth (+ 2 more in the next year) pulled because of it. All of the extractions were decided by the ortho and then we were sent to the dentist to have them done. None of them were any big deal to have done, including the permanent teeth, but ds was always very stressed out about it ahead of time. Besides deciding on whether to pull them, there might be other things that can be done now to help later if her mouth is small.

[anneinco]

I have two recommondations for orthodontists so I am going to make some calls Monday to see what they can offer. Seems one of them was not open today.

 

If needed, am planning on postponing the extraction appointment if I can not get in to either of these two offices next week. Still feeling out friends and neighbors for recommondations.

[brijen97]

My daughter had this problem with all of her teeth. We did have one removed mainly because it was driving us all absolutely batty. The dentist didn't seem to think it was an issue but perhaps my daughter doesn't appear to have the orthodontist issues your daughter may have. The first tooth came out because it was accidentally kicked by a friend when they were wrestling around on the floor. This was the second tooth. Her top teeth came out easily though! In fact a bottom tooth was hanging by a thread and I kept thinking it was the one coming out but both top ones fell out first!! The tooth pull itself wasn't bad at all. My husband took her, they numbed her gum with gel (no needles) and plucked it right out. In fact the dentist said it was all too easy and charged us less than the normal cost. I hope it goes well!!

[AngieW in Texas]

The dentist sent us to an ortho for confirmation before he pulled any teeth. He wasn't going to pull any teeth without an ortho confirmation. That ortho saw us every 6 months for over 3 years. Then it came time to start actually worrying about braces and do the workup to figure out what needed to be done. We didn't like that ortho's plan and our dentist wasn't happy about it either. The dentist gave us several referrals for orthos in our area, but he had one that he liked best (about 45 minutes away from us) that he recommended we talk to first. We ended up going that one because he was the only one who wasn't committed right from the beginning to pulling at least 4 more baby teeth and 4 adult teeth. The dentist was pretty sure we'd be unhappy with the consequences if any adult teeth were pulled from the bottom.