Several years ago I decided to take a trip to the dentist after skipping multiple appointments for over 15 years. I truly had a dental anxiety and had a hard time getting over my fears. Thankfully, my dental visit went smoothly with only four cavities identified. What I did find from this dental visit was that there was a great deal of new information and technology that I had been missing out on. Laser-based technology and digital imaging are just a few examples. With this blog, I want you to understand that you can get over your fears and learn about this new technology like I did, so enjoy the information.
Having a loose tooth can make a child wild, and many parents remember their own parents helping them when they were little with this issue. While it may be what your parents did, that doesn't mean that it's appropriate. Here's why you shouldn't help your child yourself when their baby tooth is on the verge of falling out.
The Problem With Helping
There were lots of methods for parents helping their children when a tooth wouldn't come loose. For example, some parents would tie a string to the loose tooth and another to a doorknob. One quick swing of the door would yank the tooth out, and the whole process would be complete.
There are a few problems with this idea, however. For starters, it's traumatizing to the child. Second, it's likely to induce a fair amount of pain, especially if the tooth isn't actually ready to come out yet. Third, if the tooth isn't ready to come out, you could potentially leave behind one or more tooth roots, which will require a dentist to operate on to remove.
Let Nature Work Its Course
In most cases, children's teeth do a perfectly good job of letting go of the gums and falling out all on their own. The body naturally begins to reabsorb the roots of the tooth when it's ready for an adult tooth to move in. However, this doesn't necessarily happen all at once. In many cases, one root of a tooth will get a head start on the others. As a result, a molar could only have three of its four roots, which would cause it to become wiggly in the gums.
Although this molar is wiggling, that doesn't mean it's ready to come out. Give it some more time, and the remaining roots should let go on their own, and the tooth will come out when it's ready.
When to Get Help
Although the tooth should take care of itself, not every tooth comes out naturally. If your child begins to experience pain, bleeding, or swelling of the gums, it's time to seek help from a dentist. If this is happening, it likely means that there's some kind of infection or open wound in your child's mouth. Your dentist will treat any wounds or infections and will remove the tooth if it's ready to come out.
Having a child get a loose tooth can be a little nerve-wracking, but in most cases, it doesn't require any assistance from the parent. Your child's body will take care of itself, but in the event that it doesn't, visit a pediatric dentistry clinic right away.
Share5 November 2018
