Momto6inIN Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 Or do you wait til they do it themselves? I never did it for my sons. I just told them to wiggle it amd wiggle it and wiggle it and give it a good yank and it would come out. But my oldest daughter hated (still hates) any type of medical or dental procedure, pain, or anything involving blood and her first tooth actually was wiggly for so long because she refused to pull it that it began to grow back into her gum and had to be extracted by the dentist at age 8 which involved a tantrum of epic proportions about the needle until I finally told the dentist to just yank it out without the shot and I had to pay $80 for a lost baby tooth. After that when her teeth got wiggly I would just take care of it myself. So now I think I've just lost patience with the whole process and when I see my next 2 daughters peering into the bathroom mirror hemming and hawing and dawdling and worrying over their wiggly teeth I just roll my eyes and grab a Kleenex and yank. But now I'm worried that I'm depriving them of some necessary rite of passage od childhood or self care/awareness skills by doing it for them. 😛 So I'm curious what everybody else does ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 No, I never pull or yank any loose teeth with my dc. It was never been necessary. They all just came to me with their tooth in hand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyroo Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 Having a loose tooth is a huge annoyance/distraction/pain for my sensory-sensitive kiddos, so they normally want them out ASAP. They start asking me to pull them as soon as you could charitably call them "loose". I dutifully try to pull them, but obviously I don't make much headway if it is simply too soon for them to come out. We still go through that ritual several times a day for however long it takes until thankfully the tooth is ready to give up the ghost. Wendy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 It sounds like you took a bad experience with one kid and think the next two will have the same issues around blood and pain. Do they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 4 minutes ago, HomeAgain said: It sounds like you took a bad experience with one kid and think the next two will have the same issues around blood and pain. Do they? No, not really. The 7 year old is a little bit like oldest DD but not nearly as squeamish. The 11 year old is pretty stoic. That's why I'm wondering if this is my issue, not really theirs, and I should just be more patient and encouraging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyroo Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 10 minutes ago, Momto5inIN said: No, not really. The 7 year old is a little bit like oldest DD but not nearly as squeamish. The 11 year old is pretty stoic. That's why I'm wondering if this is my issue, not really theirs, and I should just be more patient and encouraging. Honestly I don't think it matters. Wiggling out loose teeth is not a life skill. I tend to err on the side of bodily autonomy (until there is a medical reason otherwise). So, if a kiddo doesn't want me to pull a tooth, then I won't. If he does, then I will. Wendy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 No. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 I did once with a really annoying tooth. I said "never again." It was so gross. My kids are free to pull out their own teeth or let them dangle for the rest of their lives, I don't care. When I was a kid, my teeth always came out without any pulling necessary. Yes, some of them took forever and it was annoying. My dad offered to perform the doorknob/string procedure, but I never had the guts to go through with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 24 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said: I never felt like I made them missing something for doing it myself and I assure you. They were every bit as excited as if they’d pulled them themselves. 🙂 Lol well, I wasn't exactly worried I was depriving them of some essential life skill exactly ... But I am wondering if I'm being a little too helicopter-ish - or maybe jusy lazy because it's easier to just do it myself than wait for them to do it - by doing it for them when with a little perseverance they could do it themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City Mouse Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 I have left mine to deal with loose teeth how the choose. Mostly the teeth just fell out. However, my DD did have to have one pulled out by the dentist. It took about 10 sec (no way would she let me try). My DS had to have his last baby tooth pulled out at the request of the orthodontist who would not put braces on until that last tooth was out. My DS was in 9th grade at the time and the tooth was just starting to loosen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 I have, but you have to be careful (angle REALLY matters - I believe it was pull-up, not out.) so you don't tear the gums. one reason why we've had two dentists who have been very vocal about parents not pulling teeth. they've had to repair the damage caused by parents who did it wrong, often because the tooth really wasn't ready, and caused a serious injury to the gum.) 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 I've always been told that it's a bad idea to pull a loose tooth and so never did it. My younger kid did have to have a couple of late baby teeth pulled for orthodontic reasons, but we went to the dentist for that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertBlossom Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 I have been known to pay my kids $5-10 bucks in order to convince them to let me pull their teeth. It is one of my life's greatest pleasures! 😅 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loowit Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 I let them do it themselves. I did have to remind middle to wiggle his tooth, per dentist's instructions. His first few came out on their own, no pulling, in fact his first lost tooth was really lost. We never found it, just noticed it was not in his mouth. Unfortunately, the others started to not come out on their own and he hated to wiggle them. One of his teeth was removed by an anesthesiologist before they could intubate him for surgery because they were afraid it would fall out and cause problems. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 The dentist has never been concerned that some of my dc have loose teeth forever because they refuse to wiggle them. One of the dc had a very loose tooth when she had to be swabbed for strep throat. She was not cooperative. The nurse told me that she didn't think that she would be able to swab the throat without knocking the tooth out. I told her that as long as she didn't charge me for a tooth extraction it would be ok. Dd was very wiggly, got her throat swabbed, lost a tooth, got a prescription antibiotic and was comforted with a slushie. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 My ds has a retainer installed because he had palette expanders and braces a couple years ago. I need to get him back in because they'll probably do braces again in fact to finish the job. Anyways, with that wire there and the way the brackets were, at best he could have wiggled teeth one direction. As the others dealing with sensory and ASD mentioned, it gets much more complicated. My ds had a couple that went on so long they were "shells" which meant something about they were basically dissolving trying to leave the mouth because it was so time to go! I had those particular shell teeth moved, because every time I tried to brush he was howling bloody murder. We did it under gas and he still howled and was miserable. It was just unbelievable. Since then we've had 4-6 more teeth come out, same gig, with very little room to wiggle and his complete freaking out and complete unwillingness to touch them. At this point the dentist tells us eat apples, and that seems to work. Like when it's time, just give them something good and sturdy and it comes out. The apples have worked for two teeth now that were ready. That wasn't on purpose mind you, just happened. But it got them out. And I had paid $$$$$$ for the two extractions, making the apple method much cheaper! I was worried his permanent teeth would be harmed by having shell teeth dissolving, but they seem ok. 3 hours ago, gardenmom5 said: one reason why we've had two dentists who have been very vocal about parents not pulling teeth. they've had to repair the damage caused by parents who did it wrong, often because the tooth really wasn't ready, and caused a serious injury to the gum.) Maybe that's why the dentist NEVER told me to do anything, even though it went on a long time? That's really awful, mercy. And here it's been surprising. Even with the shell teeth, there was still root and pain and blood. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertBlossom Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 Some of my kids get to the point they risk swallowing in the middle of the night but still refuse to pull it out themselves. That's usually where I convince them to let me pull it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Familia Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 (edited) No, I think it is the oddest habit. There may be occasional need, I can see, but I know families who take it as a matter of course. Those poor children, IMO. LOL, kinda. But, it is such a good opportunity for one to learn about one's body, tolerance to pain, getting through things alone, etc. Missed opportunity when the parent infringes on this right of passage. My 2 cents. ETA: totally see what @wendyroo is saying. I feel strongly b/c of two families where it hasn't gone well, and they are over-controlling in general. I really should just mind my own business=) Edited January 26, 2019 by Familia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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