Milk teeth extraction...:-( Post Reply

[Ceecee1972]

Hello!

My 6 yr old has secondary teeth growing behind her bottom incisor milk teeth. At a visit to the dentist 4mths ago I was told they should push out the milk teeth and not to worry, however I am beginning to wonder whether they (the milk teeth) will need to be extracted as they're not very wobbly and don't feel as though they're coming out any time soon! We're going back to the dentist next week, has anyone experienced anything similar?

Thanks

[Olim]

Hello There,

I am Selina, dentist from Trinity Fields Dental, SW17 .
This is very common and I see children brought in with this all the time. Do not worry . Normally there is a variation in when the teeth are lost and this can vary by as much as 2 years . ( i.e. normally these teeth are lost at 6 years, but can be as late as 8 years or as early as 4 years ) .It can take quite some months until they get loose and that depends on how much root is still underneath. Baby teeth are lost naturally due to the root dissolving,at the right time, and hence they begin to feel loose and get wobbled out .
You are doing the right thing by taking your little one in to see their dentist and it is very very common , so do not worry.

[Kiwi Mum]

We went to the dentist on Battersea Rise, who advised us that due to overcrowding in our 7 year old daughter's mouth (in fact her adult tooth is coming in behind the milk tooth, which has not been pushed out) that we had 2 options - 1) have teeth pulled out (available on the NHS); or 2) embark on an 18-month course of treatment with a lower and upper brace which will "widen" the mouth to allow space for all teeth coming in - apparently this treatment has been around for years. Option 2 seemed like a better (and less painful) course of action, although more costly as we are paying for the treatment.

[Ceecee1972]

Thanks for the feedback. We too were advised to have them both removed, which was done with a local anaesthetic by our fantastic dentist (corner of Boundaries rd & Chestnut Grove) and according to my daughter (not known for her stoicism) it was pretty painless. The secondary teeth have already moved to the front!