Parents are often nervous about their child’s teeth. Concerns about when kids are teething, when they will lose their baby teeth, how straight the teeth are coming in are common–and understandable. Children do not come with their individual instruction manuals!
Often we have young patients here for check-ups, we will do xrays. These xrays tell us where the adult teeth are, and how soon they will come in. They also show us if there are any baby teeth blocking an adult tooth. If this is the case, we tell a child’s parent that we will need to pull a baby tooth off their child. Often, there is confusion. “Won’t these baby teeth fall out on their own?”
The answer is yes, probably, and sometimes no. Not all baby teeth fall out, some people keep theirs through adulthood! It is rather rare but does happen. Also, more frequently, a baby tooth is crowding the space and the adult tooth can’t come in or come in evenly. In these cases, we will often remove a baby tooth a little early to give the adult tooth a little space to come in.
Most of the time, child’s teeth do come out of their own schedule. But when a certain amount of intervention is necessary, it is fairly easy and fast to remove them. Sometimes the tooth is already loose, in which case we may be able to manually remove it. If the tooth is not a little wiggly we will often give the patient a little laughing gas and some lidocaine to numb the area. Then, using small dental pliers, we will quickly extract the tooth. The patients feel nothing and are back to normal nearly right away. Usually, the adult tooth that has been trying to get through, will erupt within days and grow in normally.
Regular checkups with x-rays help us know what is happening in those small little mouths. Would you like to learn more about dental care or the x-rays we take when our patients are here? Have questions about practical ways to prevent cavities? Make your appointment today or call 480-376-1236 to schedule a personal consultation with your dentist and dental team at Parkview.
