Your child’s baby teeth are not the final stage of their oral development. Over time these teeth will fall out and adult teeth will take their place. During this time it is important that the teeth are lost at the right time, and the adult teeth have the right place to grow into. Learn the proper time to pull out a tooth, and the dangers of pulling one earlier than it should be.
Dangers to the Tooth
When your child’s tooth first becomes loose, they will wiggle it constantly, excited for getting yet another visit from the tooth fairy. While the tooth will naturally loosen over time, parents should not put extra strain on the tooth. There are many tricks that have been set in place to help remove a child’s baby tooth, including tying it to a door knob. While this may be effective, it is important to look at the possible damage that can be done through this. The baby teeth serve an important function in the mouth. Not only do they help to chew food, they also act as placeholders in the mouth before the adult teeth will emerge. When the baby teeth are removed too early, the alignment of the permanent teeth to follow can have problems.
Removing Baby Teeth
Most baby teeth are lost in the same order they come in, meaning you have the greatest chance of losing your front teeth first, the bottom ones and then the top. There are very rare instances where the assistance of a dentist will be needed to remove the baby teeth, but this does not happen too often. Instead keep an eye on the tooth with the child, it should be very loose before additional action should be taken. For some kids the wait for losing the baby teeth is too much to take. When it gets close to becoming loose, there are a few things that can be done, including the trick of tying a piece of floss around the tooth and securing the other end to a door knob. Make sure the tooth is loose enough that it will easily come out, causing the least amount of pain in this way. The tooth should not bleed, and if it does it should be very little.
Don’t be forceful when removing your child’s baby teeth. These are delicate placeholders meant to protect and guide the adult teeth when the time is right. Make sure the tooth is already loose and ready before trying the various methods of removal.
