What To Do If Your Child Loses A Baby Tooth Too Quickly?

Posted on: 28 June 2019

Most baby teeth fall out between the ages of 6 to 12, and they generally fall out when the permanent teeth start pushing them out. There are times, though, when a child will lose a baby tooth too quickly, which means a baby tooth will come out before it actually should have. As a parent, there are several things you should know about this.

How it happens

With most kids, the baby teeth they have will not fall out until there are permanent teeth under them pushing them out of place. This is how it normally works, and your dentist can help you learn more about the ages in which this happens. Unfortunately, though, there are situations where kids will lose their baby teeth before they should. For example, if your child falls hard at the playground and hits his or her mouth hard enough, it could cause a baby tooth to fall out. A child can also lose a baby tooth prematurely if the tooth is full of decay and cannot be fixed. Trauma to a tooth and decay are the main reasons that baby teeth fall out too soon.

The problems it could lead to

While there are several problems that can occur from losing a baby tooth too quickly, the main problem is the gap that it leaves in a mouth. If, for example, your child is six and loses a baby tooth that will not have a permanent tooth until the age of 9 or 10, your child would have to live for several years with a gap in his or her mouth. The problem with this is that the gap might not stay there. The other teeth might work their way over and fill in this gap, which means there would be no place for the permanent tooth to grow in once it is ready to come through the gums.

The solutions for this problem

The main way a dentist will solve this problem is by installing a space maintainer in the child's mouth. This is just a small device that keeps the gap in place until the permanent tooth grows in. This is an easy solution that works great for this situation.

If your child loses a tooth at a time when the permanent tooth is not ready to erupt, you should visit your pediatric dentist. The dentist can determine if you should treat the problem or leave it alone, and the dentist can help you learn more about this problem you are facing. To learn more, contact a pediatric dental clinic in your city.

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