MOOK: Wiggly teeth

[dr.girlfriend]

So, DS is about to lose his first tooth.  It is VERY wiggly, and the new tooth is very prominently coming up behind it, but it won't fall out!  Should I just give it time?  Is there a point at which I should take him to the dentist to see if it needs to be pulled?  Should I just try to yank it myself?

[anna7602]

Give it time! DD has had one tooth pulled due to the other coming up behind it, but the dentist pulled it after giving it 3 long months and not seeing it get wiggly at all. The advice was just to let things follow their course if the tooth was actually very loose and continued to get looser.

[ijack]

Give him an apple

[Deleted]

When they get grossly wiggly and I can't stand it I usually ask to see how wiggly it is and gently pull on it to see if I can get it to come out. . If that doesn't work I give them a piece of gauze to see if they can get it out. If that doesn't work we just wait.

[jeaniebueller]

Well, my DS is going on month 3 of his front tooth looking like a snaggle tooth due to the big tooth coming in behind it and old toothy isn't going anywhere yet, so my suggestion is to have your child wiggle it a few times a day and make grandiose promises of the tooth fairy to get him interested in it.

[mmmomof2]

When DD's tooth was literally hanging by a thread DH used dental floss to take it out. We were worried she would swallow or choke on it in her sleep. Her permanent one came in later, I might be tempted to call the dentist if it came in earlier.

[cajunmom]

Give it some time but if the new tooth is more than halfway in and the baby tooth is still there I'd check with the dentist. DD2's best friend hasn't lost a single baby tooth on her own (she's 9.5 years old), they just wouldn't fall out even with her permanent teeth coming in. Her mom didn't want her to have to go through all of that but it was causing serious problems with her permanent teeth so they had to do it. I realize she's an unusual case but lots of kids I know have had to have a tooth or two pulled.

[dr.girlfriend]

Thanks, guys! I had no idea it could stay in the "wiggly" stage for months! It's been like that for less than a week and I felt like that was unusual. :-) It's his bottom front tooth and he can push it almost 90 degrees forward, so it seems like it's just one of the roots that won't let go. Luckily he loves to wiggle it and I'm constantly egging him on ("Cool! How far forward can it go today?!") so hopefully it'll come out soon. :-) I gave him a whole apple for snack two days ago and he said he couldn't eat it because it hurt the wiggly tooth, so I've been giving him sliced apple. Bagels are a good idea...if we get out power back it'll be bagel and cream cheese for breakfast tomorrow!

[mainelyfoolish]

DD currently has a snaggle tooth front and center -- the adult tooth has been growing in behind it and the baby tooth is now sticking out almost fully horizontal yet it refuses to fall out. DD has lost five teeth and they've all hung on for weeks after they first started to get loose.