Losing Teeth

[jrob]

So, a while back I had posted about losing teeth because I was starting to get worried that my stepson's teeth weren't getting loose. The last I posted was mid-November, he had just recently turned 7 and one tooth was FINALLY loose. I was so excited and so was he. Well, it's been since November 14th (I just checked my past posts) and the thing still hasn't come out. In fact, the tooth next to it just started wiggling a couple weeks ago and both adult teeth are forming BEHIND the stubborn baby teeth. I keep seeing my friends post pictures on Facebook of their kids losing teeth and they're all younger than him. They've lost at least 2 by now and many of them even have started losing the top teeth, but his just don't seem to be budging. I try to get him to wiggle them more, but the teeth are sensitive and he won't eat anything with those teeth, he bites everything from the side. And I mean everything, even soft stuff like bananas. I make jokes with him saying things like "Get those fingers in your mouth!!!" and he giggles because it's the opposite of what you normally tell kids to get their fingers OUT of their mouth. He enjoys that, but even though I prompt him to wiggle it 4 out of 7 days a week, I have no idea if he's wiggling it at his mom's. I've read that the more kids play with loose teeth the faster they fall out which is why I tell him to. No one else seems as worried as me about it. But he even makes comments to me about being the only kid who hasn't lost teeth in his class and he is the oldest student. I just don't want them to take so long he stops believing in the tooth fairy before they fall out. He's almost at that point anyway and I really wanted to be able to give him that magical experience.

Should I be concerned that he is nearing 7 1/2 now, still hasn't lost any teeth, the ones that are loose aren't very loose at all, and that the adult teeth are already coming in behind them? I don't know, 4 months seems like a long time for a loose tooth to barely budge.

Also, is it possible that his adult teeth could possibly move up more towards the front of his mouth once his teeth start falling out and his jaw grows? Or are we looking at braces for sure? Both his parents have fairly straight teeth and never had braces so we thought he might have gotten lucky with his genes, but if they stay where they are I guess he will be needing braces.

 

[tazgirl]

The adult ones usually come forward once the baby ones finally come out. The fact that they are growing behind the baby ones is part of the problem in that if they had been directly underneath they would have helped to shift the baby ones. It's just one of those things though.

If he is avoiding eating on them then they unfortunately will take longer to exfoliate. Can u get him to brush them really hard as that plus eating on them is your best chance at getting them out.

I see this more and more these days (I'm a dentist). Kids seem scared to wobble out their own teeth. In my day you wouldn't leave them alone until u got them out lol! I quite often have to extract baby teeth as kids just won't eat on them and yet complain that they are uncomfortable. That of course means giving them a local anaesthetic injection but even at that kids seem happier going down that route than doing it themselves

Just make sure the adult ones coming up behind are being well cleaned. If he's not managing that and refusing to do anything to help the loose ones out then take him to the dentist for their opinion

 

[hel_5]

Sounds like my DD1, her first tooth came out at the end of February (she was 7 1/2) it had been wobbly since JUNE!!!! And her adult teeth had come up behind her baby teeth (think shark she had two rows of teeth!!) dentist said to leave them and they will come out, she's now after losing her third tooth (so three in less than a month!) and her adult teeth are moving forward to where the baby teeth were, I ended up pulling the first one out, but after that she's pulled out the other two xx

 

[Vickie]

Hannah's first adult tooth came in behind her loose tooth and it has since moved forward to where the baby tooth fell out. She is always playing with her loose teeth but we have had a few that took ages to come out. Usually DH wiggles them around after her teeth are brushed until they are finally loose enough to be pulled out. (She did lose one in an apple though!)

 

[Twinmum87]

My two have often gotten the adult teeth cut before the baby tooth falls out, and had teeth take several months to fall out from first getting wobbily. Doesn't matter if the teeth are set back or wonky now because as they child grows and the jaw bone grows the teeth gradually move into the correct position and if they are still not quite straight there is always braces my girl has over crowding already, but i had to have a tooth out and braces as my jaw was just too small so I guess she is taking after me.

 

[Tasha]

My youngest lost her first tooth two week ago, she is almost seven, it has been wobbly for about six months despite a lot of wobbling x