Losing baby teeth indicates that your child is maturing, and his permanent teeth are ready to erupt. Most kids have their first loose tooth at age 5 or 6, but it can happen when they are as young as 4 or as old as 8. Baby teeth rarely fall out too early on their own accord. Typically, they will fall out early only as a result of tooth decay or being knocked out. Losing a baby tooth too early can cause dental health complications such as serious crowding problems for the developing adult teeth, as well as negatively impact the jaw's muscle and bone development.
It generally takes a few months from the time a tooth becomes loose until it falls out. If a loose baby tooth remains in place for more than that, check with a Pediatric Dentist near me. Most loose teeth will eventually fall out naturally, without having to be forced. You should never attempt to pull a child's loose tooth by yourself. Doing so can easily damage tissue or leave parts of the bone still within the socket. Even worse, this damage could lead to an infection. Pulling a loose tooth before it is ready to come out on its own can break the root, leaving the gap more susceptible to infection and pooling bacteria.
Sometimes new teeth start growing in behind baby teeth because the permanent teeth form behind the roots of the baby teeth and sometimes they grow behind the baby tooth before it falls out. When this occurs most of the time no treatment is needed, nature usually takes care of the situation, but occasionally the baby tooth does have to be extracted (pulled). In this case, you should visit a friendly kid’s dental office in West Palm Beach.
The most common reason why permanent tooth does not erupt is because there isn't enough space for it. Baby teeth hold space in the jaws for permanent teeth that are growing under the gums. If a kid loses a tooth early or have a baby (primary) tooth extracted due to dental decay, she or he may need space maintainer in order to keep space for the permanent tooth.
Space maintainers keep the space left after the premature loss of primary teeth. They keep the space open and allow the permanent tooth to erupt and come into place. They are made of metal and/or plastic and can be fixed (cemented) or removable.
Removable space maintainers are similar to orthodontic appliances and are usually made of acrylic. In some cases, an artificial tooth may be used to fill a space that must remain open for the unerupted tooth.
There are four different kinds of fixed space maintainers: unilateral, crown and loop, bilateral and distal shoe. The unilateral and crown and loop space maintainers are placed on one side of the mouth to hold space open for one tooth. Bilateral space maintainer is fixed to both sides of the mouth to hold space open for more than one tooth and it may be cemented to molar teeth and connected by a wire on the inside of the front teeth. Distal shoe space maintainer is usually used for an unerupted first permanent molar tooth.
The child should be seen by the Pediatric Dentist in West Palm Beach or orthodontist on a regular basis to monitor the progress of treatment with the space maintainer and continue to receive a regular six-month professional cleaning and checkup appointment with his/her Pediatric children dentist.
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