Dentist pulling baby teeth in a child......any experience?

[marshallandcartersmo]

DS8's top two front permanent teeth haven't come down yet. The two on either side of them are coming in, but sorta sideways. The dentist thinks that's the reason that the two front teeth can't come down yet, because they don't have room to come down.

He wants to pull the baby teeth that are next to the permanent teeth that are coming down. Those baby teeth aren't lose AT ALL. He thinks that'll give the ones that are coming in sorta sideways more room to straighten out, and will give the front teeth room to come down.

DS (and I, but I'm not to showing it) are super nervous about it. Any experience w/this? The dentist said he'd give him some gas first. I understand there is other oral medication he can take, but I'm not sure I want him medicated if it really isn't a big deal.

ETA: I will definatley be getting him the gas. I'm just wondering if we should do something along with it.

 

[mjkacmom]

I had lots of baby teeth (and permanant teeth) pulled as a child - I was a slow teether, and we wanted to get braces started. Two of my children (can't remember which ones) had teeth pulled - one was done at a checkup, right then and there, with just novacaine. No biggy.

 

[Green Tea]

The actual pulling of baby teeth is no big deal, but I would see an orthodontist before I made any decision like that. It is better in the long run to have an idea of what all might be needed down the road.

PS: one of mine had 7 taken at once, would have been 8 except one came out on its own. But all under the future plan of what the orthodontist had in mind.

If there is crowding now, braces are pretty much inevitable. One of mine had a spacer put in at about age 8.

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

The actual pulling of baby teeth is no big deal, but I would see an orthodontist before I made any decision like that. It is better in the long run to have an idea of what all might be needed down the road.

PS: one of mine had 7 taken at once, would have been 8 except one came out on its own. But all under the future plan of what the orthodontist had in mind.

If there is crowding now, braces are pretty much inevitable. One of mine had a spacer put in at about age 8.

Oh I've already heard that from him. He's taken lots of X-rays of DS's mouth and always has the same comment "he sure has some big teeth", and I always reply "so I guess we'll be having braces then".
I had horrible teeth before braces, and so did DH.

I guess I didn't realize I should already be looking into an orthodontist. I always thought I should wait until all the adult teeth come in. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[Green Tea]

The ortho can work with the dentist to get the mouth ready for what is to come. It might be that the ortho would rather expand and let the permanent teeth fall in on time, or some other grand plan. The orthodontist might say come back in 5 years, but doubtful. He can help make room now which might lessen the need to have permanent teeth removed later.

 

[sunlver]

My daughter will be 10 in July. She has had 4 baby teeth pulled already. We had an ortho consult and he suggested the pulling of the baby teeth, 2 last yr, and 2 pulled just last month. My daughters mouth is a mess..still lots of baby teeth left and big teeth coming in. By pulling them, he was just trying to give her a little more room. Ortho said she still will need braces, this is all the prework
Ortho and dentist work in same office..Ortho suggests what teeth to pull, then regular dentist does the pulling.

 

[mjkacmom]

I guess I didn't realize I should already be looking into an orthodontist. I always thought I should wait until all the adult teeth come in. Thanks for the reminder!

This is the age where they usually go for a consult. If spacing is an issue, most orthodontists want to put a palate expander in, before the baby teeth come out. Dd12 had hers for years!

 

[RadioNate]

Is the dentist sure (via xray) that the permeant teeth are there?

My dentist pulled my baby teeth and I never got permanent ones! Worst mistake EVER.

 

[bumbershoot]

Why is he in such a rush? Slow down, dentist dude, slow down.

Jaws GROW...why don't dentists and orthodontists realize that? I had my first ortho appt at 9, entered the awful world of braces because "even though her teeth are straight, when she's 40 there will be problems", my teeth looked just the same EXCEPT there's scads of room NOW that I'm an adult. Had 4 teeth plus wisdom teeth pulled, so so stupid. (I'm really not a huge fan of preventative braces, I'd rather have adults with braces once they KNOW there's a problem and once they KNOW they don't like their teeth like that, rather than the just in case nonsense that no one will ever be able to prove or disprove, since the change will already be made)

Other than that, gas only? Why gas? I've never had that. A blip of lidocaine, if you choose to go forward with this rather than letting her body figure it out, pull pull, it's done. Why the gas?

And yes, DS had two teeth, that were disintegrating (his father's father's family has awful teeth), pulled. Blip of lidocaine, all done. He was only 2.

 

[stsomewhere]

My DD was in second grade and had to have her upper and lower 2 front teeth extracted. They adults were coming in behind. The dentist referred us to an orthpdonist , who sent us to an oral surgeon. I paid extra so my DD could get "laughin gas"

 

[ElizK]

DS8's top two front permanent teeth haven't come down yet. The two on either side of them are coming in, but sorta sideways. The dentist thinks that's the reason that the two front teeth can't come down yet, because they don't have room to come down.

He wants to pull the baby teeth that are next to the permanent teeth that are coming down. Those baby teeth aren't lose AT ALL. He thinks that'll give the ones that are coming in sorta sideways more room to straighten out, and will give the front teeth room to come down.

DS (and I, but I'm not to showing it) are super nervous about it. Any experience w/this? The dentist said he'd give him some gas first. I understand there is other oral medication he can take, but I'm not sure I want him medicated if it really isn't a big deal.

ETA: I will definatley be getting him the gas. I'm just wondering if we should do something along with it.

DD14 had the same problem, only it was her bottom front teeth. Just so you know, it did work for those four teeth. They did all come in straight. Really, it's not that big a deal. They'll give him the gas, and he won't care what they do next, probably won't rememeber a lot it. DD14 went on to have a total of NINE baby teeth pulled. Poor kid. She's got my teeth. I've had 11 pulled (4 baby, 4 permanent, 3 wisdom). By the time she's had her wisdom teeth out, she'll have me beat!

 

[DawnCt1]

Why is he in such a rush? Slow down, dentist dude, slow down.

Jaws GROW...why don't dentists and orthodontists realize that? I had my first ortho appt at 9, entered the awful world of braces because "even though her teeth are straight, when she's 40 there will be problems", my teeth looked just the same EXCEPT there's scads of room NOW that I'm an adult. Had 4 teeth plus wisdom teeth pulled, so so stupid. (I'm really not a huge fan of preventative braces, I'd rather have adults with braces once they KNOW there's a problem and once they KNOW they don't like their teeth like that, rather than the just in case nonsense that no one will ever be able to prove or disprove, since the change will already be made)

Other than that, gas only? Why gas? I've never had that. A blip of lidocaine, if you choose to go forward with this rather than letting her body figure it out, pull pull, it's done. Why the gas?

And yes, DS had two teeth, that were disintegrating (his father's father's family has awful teeth), pulled. Blip of lidocaine, all done. He was only 2.

Gas works out very well in the pediodontist office. As a parent of children that have worn the little "nose" and had their teeth "wiggled", it can really be a "non event". Making room for secondary teeth often prevents major orthodontic intervention down the road. Why NOT gas? The amount of gas that is delivered in a dental office does not put the child to sleep. It relaxes the child so that lidocaine can be delivered painlessly and effectively. It isn't "one or the other", its a combination of both. From a young age my children always were comfortable going to the dentist. Keeping the visits anxiety and pain free is the key!

 

[pixiegoose]

When I was in 5th grade, I had 13 teeth pulled. 8 babies (well, 9 but 1 was loose and came out on its own) and 4 adult teeth (that were under the baby teeth) with just novicaine. My mouth is ridiculously small and I ended up having to have my wisdom teeth out when I was 15 (I was completely out for those though, as they were impacted and I didn't want to know what was going on). It's always fun going to new dentists and having them try to match up my teeth with their chart for noting the conditions of teeth- they're never quite sure how they want to number them since I'm short 2 on top and 2 on bottom.

 

[maelstrom]

I had several baby teeth pulled as a child. My mouth was too small (it still is) to accomodate all my teeth, and I was going to need braces in a few years. I had both nitrous and novocaine when I had my baby teeth pulled, and it was no big deal. I then had braces from ages 10 to 13. When I was 18, I had my two bottom wisdom teeth pulled because they were starting to come in and my mouth is *still* too small to accomodate, really, the teeth I already have, let alone those as well. I did not get nitrous for that, only novocaine, and I was *awake*. OH MY GOD!! It was extremely traumatic. I am definitely a fan of nitrous for dental work. I'm now 23 and my mouth is really still too small for all of my big teeth.

 

[tracyncj]

DD9 has had 9 mos of braces and, after that, one of her "big-girl" teeth started messing up the work! I was all-too-happy to have a baby one pulled by the dentist. As predicted, the errant emerging tooth "found its home" and shouldn't be a problem. The did it with just novacaine and it went smoothly.

I do wonder sometimes if dentists and orthodontists rush to judgement when predicting outcomes...but then I remember that they are the experts, I chose caregivers I trust, and I never leave without a full explanation of the "whys." So far, so good!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

DS had 12 teeth pulled just prior to starting braces when he was 11. He was left with the four teeth in front, top and bottom and the last molar on each side, top and bottom.

I had know since he was 6 or 7 he was going to need braces because at that time the dentist had taken X-rays of the permanent teeth still in the gums and they were very large teeth. And, unfortunatly, he has a small lower jaw (like his mom!). So we knew the teeth were going to need help coming in when the time came.

All went well and he has a nice (large) smile full of straight teeth all in the right places.

 

[aprilgail2]

I guess I didn't realize I should already be looking into an orthodontist. I always thought I should wait until all the adult teeth come in. Thanks for the reminder!

We started seeing the orthodontist at around 5 or 6 years old- which is when they recommend it. They checked her every six months ( no fee, all the pre visits are comp. visits!) And once she turned nine and had lost 14 of her baby teeth by that point and the adult teeth were down. She was VERY self conscious about her teeth at that point so it was time to move ahead with the braces. She did not need a palate expander like many of her classmates (they had those at 8 and 9 years old). She has only had them on for 6 months and her once crooked front teeth are not straightened out and her overbite which she used to be able to stick a finger into the space she can't even put her pinky finger in there! Hopefully another year and a half and she will be done with them!

 

[luvmy3]

OP, my ds is 5 and hasn't lost any of his baby teeth yet. His front bottom two are slightly loose but the two adult teeth have broken through and started coming up behind them. We go to the dentist in a couple days to see what we have to do. I'm dreading it, I would hate for him have to have his baby teeth pulled but I do know people whose kids have had to do it and everything turned out fine.

My dd is 11 and has yet been to the orthodontist. She has crowding but her dentist is in no rush for her to see the ortho, he says she's till growing we can wait a little bit. I really like his attitude

 

[PrincessKsMom]

My orthodontist recommend DD have one of her baby teeth pulled because it was causing the permanent tooth to come down crooked and instead of the adult tooth pushing out the baby tooth, the baby tooth was just moving over, so DD would have had two teeth in on spot (one behind the other). He also said if you pull a tooth on one side you have to pull the corresponding baby tooth on the other side, otherwise all the teeth will being to shift to the empty area. If you pull one on each side, it will keep the shifting to a minimum. All worked out well, DD got her braces and has them off now. BTW, my dentist agreed with the orthodontist.

 

[dicar123]

My son, 11, just had 4 baby teeth removed. It was over in just a few minutes and he went right back to school. I was skeptical, but apparently those baby teeth come out easy-peasy!