How to Deal with Loose Baby Teeth the Right Way

Kids typically begin to lose their baby teeth when they turn age six or seven years, starting with the incisors, which are the teeth in the very front. Baby teeth begin to become loose when permanent teeth start to grow. Once these permanent teeth grow to a certain point, the roots of the baby teeth dissolve. Making the teeth loose enough to the point they will ease out of the gums with no pain and minimal bleeding.

But of course, not all children are the same, and teeth and gums will surely develop uniquely. With that said, some baby teeth won’t be as easy to come out as others. You might be wondering if there’s a certain baby tooth in your child’s mouth that won’t come out, if you should try to pull it out.

According to your local dentist Kitchener Ontario, it is best to wait a while longer for the tooth to be ready to come out. You’ve likely heard about many tricks to help pull out a stubborn, loose tooth such as using pliers or slamming a door with the knob tethered to the tooth with string. However, pulling out a tooth that isn’t ready can cause some complication inside the child’s mouth. Most notably, the child will feel pain from getting his or her baby tooth extracted because the tooth has not fully de-rooted yet. You might be tugging on sensitive roots or nerves which will cause the child pain. Extracting a baby tooth when it isn’t ready can also lead to excess bleeding, infection, and / or damage to gum tissue.

You can wiggle your child’s tooth for yourself and see if it is still well rooted. If it still feels connected to the root underneath, tell your child to wait longer before trying to yank it out so that the pain will be reduced when that happens.

Some ways to help the tooth get ready to fall out is to brush the child’s teeth twice daily like normal. They can also easy apples that can help loose teeth work their way out of the gums. Practices like these can help ease some children, as while they are eager to pull out a loose tooth, they likely don’t want to feel that sharp pain that may come with it.

If the tooth is loose enough to the point you feel that it is ready to come out, there is one safe way that you can do so.

Firstly, wash your hands before putting them inside your child’s mouth. Then, using a tissue, wiggle the tooth back and forth. If ready, you can twist the tooth, which might get it to fall right out.
If there is any bleeding, use a gauze pad to apply pressure to the gum where the tooth used to be. After a few minutes, there should be no more bleeding.

Afterwards, look at your child’s gums to see if any fragments of the removed tooth still remain. In most scenarios, the entire tooth should fall right out, and you can possibly also see the tip of the adult tooth appearing.

At night, get the tooth fairy to come to take the tooth under your child’s pillow for money.