The human body is a marvel of biological engineering. Some of its most profound changes occur in the early years of childhood through adolescence. Among these many changes is the shedding of your child’s 20 primary teeth to accommodate their 32 permanent teeth.
As you may recall from your own childhood, primary teeth are not lost all at once. Most individuals lose these so-called baby teeth in stages that span the course of several years.
As the underlying permanent tooth starts to develop the corresponding primary tooth may feel increasingly loose. When this starts to happen most children will tell you or another caregiver.
Of course, just because a tooth feels a little loose, doesn’t mean that it is immediately ready to come out of the periodontal socket. Attempting to physically rend a tooth from the surrounding gum tissues can cause distress and significant discomfort for the child.
Our dentist notes that it is perfectly fine to let your child tongue and play with the tooth over the course of days or even a couple of weeks. The process of working the tooth back and forth will gradually start to disassociate the periodontal connective tissues in the area, which will make it much easier for the tooth to be taken out when it is good-and-ready.
If a loose primary tooth does happen to cause discomfort or it fractures, it may be best to have it professionally extracted by Dr. Pantea Nooraee or Dr. Kelara Gandy before it causes further complications.
If you live in the Frisco, Texas, area and your child is having trouble with a loose a tooth, you can always call 972-335-3000 to seek further insights or treatment from Twins Family Dentistry.