Losing Baby Teeth

Losing baby teeth is a right of passage for all children. Starting from around the age of 6, children will start to get wobbly baby teeth, which will eventually fall out – making room for their adult teeth to come through.

Starting to lose teeth can cause anxiety in some children, particularly those who haven’t experienced having a wriggly tooth before, so it’s important to support your kids through this process and show them that losing their baby teeth is normal and all part of growing up. Roughly 20% of children experience anxiety about losing their baby teeth.

A common sign that your child is feeling a little anxious about their new wobbly tooth (other than them telling you) is if they start to avoid brushing, drinking or eating in the area of the wobbly tooth. It’s important to keep your child’s daily cleaning routine on track. Not brushing or flossing can cause the gums surrounding the loose tooth to become red, swollen and painful, sometimes even bleeding a little.

It’s important to let baby teeth fall out on their own, as trying to pull them out too early can cause damage to the roots of your teeth and the growth of the adult teeth coming through.

We’ve listed below 5 tips on helping your kids to navigate losing their baby teeth.

1. Wobbling a tooth is normal and will help it to fall out, so make sure to encourage kids to wobble their loose tooth. Don’t tell them to stop wobbling it as it can then get stuck.
2. Encourage your kids to eat when they develop a wobbly tooth. Biting down on crunchy foods can be helpful to loosen a wobbly tooth (think foods like apples or carrots).
3. Teach your kids about the tooth fairy. A reward coming their way can be a great motivator to lose those wriggly teeth quickly.
4. Continue to brush your wobbly teeth. Avoiding wobbly teeth can cause inflammation of the surrounding gums and make the area around the tooth sore.
5. If your child needs a little extra support in wriggling their teeth or easing their anxiety bring them in for a check-up. Sometimes having a chat with a friendly dentist can help, and if needed we can remove their wobbly tooth for them.

Losing a tooth can take anywhere from a few days to a few months, and can be affected by the position of the new adult tooth coming through. If a wobbly tooth is irritating your child or causing them pain, or if you see the adult tooth coming in behind or in front of the baby tooth, give us a call at Tranquility Dentistry and we’ll book you in for a check-up to make sure everything is ok.

It’s important to help your children to see that losing a tooth is normal after it has fallen out as well. A little bleeding is normal and can be scary for your little one, so make sure to remain calm, positive and supportive. A gentle reminder that a visit that the tooth fairy is imminent can go a long way too!

Losing Baby Teeth