Loose tooth paving the road to braces

My 6-year-old is about to lose her second baby tooth. It is so very, very wiggly. It is just hanging by one tiny thread-like root. It's amazing how tenacious it is. You'd think she could take the same dedication she applies to nose-picking or scab-picking to wiggling that tooth out. I don't know how she can eat! I'm starting to understand all those crazy schemes to tie a string between the tooth and a door knob and slam the door shut. Not that I would do that thing with the doorknob. Yet I can hardly stop myself from wanting to wiggle it!!

In a way, as much as I want that loose tooth to fall out, I want the baby teeth to stay. She has the most beautiful little teeth. They fit so perfectly together. But we've been warned. She has a small mouth. Once all the adult teeth come crowding in, I think we're looking at a shark mouth. And you know what that means: braces. The pediatric dentist has warned of crowding and the high likelihood of needing braces several times. Braces. Just the thought of it makes me cringe. I had braces. My husband had braces. Wires poking in your cheeks and gums. Retainers. Those tiny rubber bands shooting all over the place. Disgusting gunk getting caught in your braces after eating something as benign as a cheese sandwich.

I guess the good news is that like all things, times have changed and braces technology has improved since I was a kid. I hear they do it younger now, and wear them for a shorter period. Anyone have any braces wisdom they can share?

Comments

[Marianne]

About a year ago, a pediatric dentist we just started seeing recommended a lot of orthodontic work for my then 8-year-old. His plan included a series of teeth-pullings - several at a time at several-month intervals. The thinking was that you pull early and let adult teeth have as much room as possible from the get-go. A retainer was also in the plan. And maybe (maybe), we could avoid braces altogether this way. I did not have a good feeling about this "plan." First of all, all that pulling of teeth that were going to fall our on their own - the expense as well as the pain for my low-pain-threshold kid - wasn't appealing. I mentioned this to our pediatrician, who recommended we see an actual orthodontist. We did. He said to just wait. He didn't see any urgency or need to pull teeth. And it turned out the original dentist wasn't a licensed orthodontist after all. Apparently you can take a weekend orthodontics class (!) and do the work, but you're not officially licensed. I'm thinking this guy is making lot of money pulling teeth early for kids who may or may not also need braces down the line. Sorry, this got long. We switched dentists. We don't have braces and none are recommended for now. We'll wait and see.

[carie]

Marianne, please tell me the name of that dentist/weekend ortho!
I wnat to make sure I avoid that situation.
Thanks!
Carie

[Elizabeth]

My step-dad has been my dentist for most of my life--only recently have I found a dentist in portland that I trust. He says that there are ways to expand the mouth...As I understand it, there are appliances that can be used to guide adult teeth in straight in the proper position. It might be worth a consutation with an orthodontist NOW rather than later. And if you find one that you like...would you mind sharing his/her name? We'll be going down that road soon enough with our daughter too!

[Erin]

I had appliances in the first grade- twenty five years ago to correct an underbite. I still had braces too in middle school. Applicances have probably come a long way since then. I must admit that I still haven't taken my two year old to the dentist. My mom was a teacher and back then they had rockin' insurance that covered a lot my dental expenses. We just pay out of pocket for most everything now. Come on Healthcare Reform!

[Phyllis]

Ditto on healthcare reform. I dallied a bit on finding an orthodontist for my son. During that time (2 month period) our insurance changed from fully covered orthodontics to not covered at all!!! I have heard many positive things about the Lake O. orthodontist Terry Dischinger.

[Anon]

Terry Dischinger is great and his staff are wonderful.
They were always able to fit me in when I had minor issues with my permanent retainer after braces were off.
I decided to do permanent instead of temp as one less worry.
My smile is perfect, can't recommend them enough!

[Minah]

I am a general dentist and the orthodontist I work with doesn't even want to put in braces until they have all their permanent teeth. This way:
1. they don't have to go through it twice
2. they keep as good oral hygiene as they can.
There are times we have to have early intervention but don't think it's absolutely necessary to have braces at 8 years old. It's depends on the orthodontist's philosophy. You never know, your daughter could have growth spurt! By all means- feel free to wiggle the tooth yourself- when I was a kid, my librarian used to do it for us.

[los angeles cosmetic dentistry]

When i was a child i dreamed of having a dental braces, I think braces is fashion. And if i wear a braces i was in.
lol. thanks for posting.

-heather-

[cosmetic dentistry los angeles]

I was looking for the pediatric dentist for my daughter she needs the braces for her teeth to looks much better if you have any suggestion,please let me know.Thank you in advance.

[anon]

Marianne made a good choice. My advice is not to listen to Dentists advice to pull baby teeth to make room for 2nd teeth. I trusted my dentist and had 4 baby teeth pulled (at a Dental surgeon's office so she could sleep through the procedure). She ended up needing braces anyway and my Orthodontist told me that when you pull baby teeth, the other teeth move over to fill the empty space, which can cause the jaw not to grow as much as it might have if you let the baby teeth come out on their own, then the adult teeth will end up coming in more crowded. Marianne did the right thing.

[Shauna]

My 7 year old has a very wiggly tooth. It will be his first to fall out. He really wants to tie a string to his tooth & the door & slam it shut. I am so nervous to! Will it hurt him or cause any damage? Or is it okay?

[los angeles cosmetic dentistry]

In a way, as much as I want that loose tooth to fall out, I want the baby teeth to stay. I also had the same problem so i need to prevent this matter.

by: florence

[Vincent]

My 5 1/2 year old boy has his first tooth pulled out by me a couple of days ago. It was so loose because the permanent tooth had been pushing it up. The tiny permanent tooth kind of grows inward.
I was told that
1. It will very likely be moving forward to where it supposed to be when he grows older.
2. He might have to wear the braces when he is 10 or 12 if the tooth appears crooked.

Will have to wait and see.
Cheers

[tooth diamonds]

I don't have an experience but I want to ask if there's a minimum age for using braces.

-ja

[Kids dentist]

It seems every child wants braces these days. All of their friends have them, so they want them too. I remember back in the day when braces were not as common, children did not want to get braces because they thought it was ugly and embarrassing. Funny how things change.

[viagra online]

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[generic]

Occasionally a patient will complain about a tooth feeling loose when there is no actual problem present. All natural teeth have a slight amount of mobility that cushions them slightly when you chew. They are attached to the bone by a thin ligament layer, and they will move slightly in the socket. This is nothing about which someone should be alarmed. See our page about adult tooth movement.