When you were a kid, do you remember doing anything crazy to get rid of your loose baby teeth? Maybe you seriously considered tying a string between your tooth and the doorknob, to slam the door and yank that sucker out. Or maybe you would just spend a long period of time in front of the mirror moving it back and forth and back and forth until it would hopefully fall out. But now that you have your own child with loose baby teeth, things are a different story. Here’s what you need to know about handling the situation:
Let Nature Take It’s Course
No matter how tempting it may be to help your child pull out their loose baby tooth, the best thing you can do is just let it be. It will get loose and fall out on its own when the time is right! If you try pulling it out too soon, however, it could be more painful for your kid because those sensitive tooth roots are still in place. On top of that, pulling the loose tooth on your own could even possibly lead to infection.
Ease Things Along
While we don’t recommend that you take matters into your own hands for removing a loose baby tooth, you can help things along a little by giving your child hard foods to chew on like an apple. Biting down on these kinds of foods can sometimes speed up the process of loosening up that tooth on its way out.
When in Doubt, Talk to the Dentist
In general, kids lose their baby teeth in the same order that they first came in. Normally this process starts around the age of six or seven as their permanent teeth begin coming in. If you’re at all worried about how your child is losing their baby teeth (like say, it seems like it’s taking longer than it should), reach out to us so we can have a look at the situation and give you the answers you need.
We’re Here to Help!
Laulani Dental Care enjoys taking care of patients of all ages, so if you or your child need some extra dental tips or help with your smile, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We look forward to hearing from you.
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