I have a baby tooth!!!

[sajetto]

OMG I'm 22 years old, just got my x-rays from the dentist and he says I have a baby tooth! Its right in the front and I never even noticed. Now, that I really look hard at it, it is smaller than the others.


The doc says that the adult tooth has been jammed up there so long that its laying sideways and he doesn't even know if the root is still alive. It will cost $2000 to remove the baby tooth and move the adult one down.

Heres the question....my wedding is next year and my tooth has held on this long. Should I risk not doing the procedure and it falling out right before the wedding or should I just go ahead and spend the money to do it?

 

[SteeleTig]

First I would get a second opinion on the price. My father got two new dental implants in the front of his mouth last year (he got hit by a wayward ball and it loosened his teeth enough that he needed them removed) and it was only slightly more than what you were quoted (like within $100 of your price). Go get a consultation and price from a cosmetic dentist. If your dentist pulls your baby tooth, and pulls your adult tooth down it may die if the roots are strong enough... then you'll end up having to pay for an implant on top of the other cost.

 

[TiggerTails57]

I agree a second opinion is the way to go........I don't think I would risk a missing tooth at my wedding either. Good Luck!

 

[Barb D]

And they never noticed this before now?

DS14 is missing an adult tooth...it was never there to begin with. They pulled his baby tooth, and he wears a retainer with a spacer in it to keep the space opens. When he stops growing he'll get something permanent put in that spot.

 

[mrsv98]

I got you beat, I am almost 41 and I still have baby tooth. In my case, there is no adult. The dentist says is will eentually come out but until it shows signs of decay, it is staying where it is.

So IMHO, and it is only an opinion, if it doesn't bother you, leave it be!

 

[sajetto]

And they never noticed this before now?
.

Nope, I have a new dentist. The last one was a joke! He insisted on a pile of work I didn't need and really messed up a composite filling over a year ago. If he saw it, he probably didn't mention it b/c he had no idea how to fix it

 

[sajetto]

I got you beat, I am almost 41 and I still have baby tooth. In my case, there is no adult. The dentist says is will eentually come out but until it shows signs of decay, it is staying where it is.

So IMHO, and it is only an opinion, if it doesn't bother you, leave it be!

Does that tooth feel weaker than you others? Do you think its possible that mine will stay in my mouth on its own?.....It feels a lot shorter than the others and it shifts if its messed with, but when left be it doesn't move at all, even when I'm eating.

 

[gradtchr]

I am 28 and still have a baby tooth with no permanent. It has a crown on it and is doing fine and as far as I am concerned it can stay right where it is until it wants to come out on it's own. At that time I will look at an implant until that time it works great.

 

[krcit]

I win!!! I have 3 baby teeth and I'm 37, lol!!! Those 3 baby teeth have no permanent teeth above them so they never came out. I only had a problem with 1 of them, it grew away from my gum b/c it's so small so the dentist just put a filling in and it's been fine so far. They sis say that eventually that one will need to come out but I'm in nooooo hurry-so far, so good. My baby teeth are not loose at all. They told me it's hereditary but my 2 dd's have all their teeth-my ds hasn't had x-rayys yet. I would jsut let it be for now, esp. if it isn't bothering you.

 

[lsyorke]

49 and still have one baby tooth!!! There's no second tooth,and the very strange thing is that my son has the exact same baby tooth with no second tooth.. go figure!! My dentist told me "If it ain't broke don't fix it". It's never been a problem, after all these years. Leave it be!!

 

[campinggal]

Me too! I'm 41 with two baby teeth still going strong. I have no adult teeth behind them so maybe yours is a different story with the adult tooth still up there. However, if it isn't moving and causing pain by itself- I'd vote for leaving it alone too- or at least getting a second opinion.

 

[MAKmom]

DD 19 has a baby with no adult tooth. I've know this since she was a child. You should see a another dentist but don't go to someone your guy knows. I'd leave it alone.

 

[DaisyD]

All of my back teeth are baby teeth and I'm 44 years old! They run in my mom's side of the family. I have no adult teeth waiting to come in behind them either. I'd leave well enough alone.

 

[Barb D]

That's interesting that so many of you have baby teeth that the dentists say not to fix. Makes me wonder if DS's dentist was too quick to do unneccessary work. His concern was that the adult teeth would start to cave in on the smaller baby tooth, which was why we needed to put a spacer there.

 

[RadioNate]

I had 2 baby teeth pulled because there were no adult teeth. Like Barb D's child I had a retainer spacer. Then I had years of braces and finally bridges. I've had my bridges for 15 years. We are trying to save up to replace them since they are too small and giving be problems.

Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have let them pull the teeth. DH is 32 and still has a baby tooth. His is fine.

 

[NCDisneyMom]

I had two baby teeth on the bottom until I was 30. Like many of you, there were no adult teeth underneath to push them out.

I had them pulled because I wanted to get braces on. For me, it actually turned out in my favor. My bottom teeth (where the baby teeth were) were VERY crowded. In order for braces to fix them, teeth would have had to come out regardless, to make room for the rest of them to move. With two of them being baby teeth, the logical thing to do was remove those, instead of two permanent teeth. And, the baby teeth were a "matching set"...the same tooth on each side of my mouth.

They were in great shape, though, so who knows how long I could have kept them if I didn't have them pulled. (For the record, though, I'm glad I had them pulled. 2 1/2 years of braces, and now 1 year later than that, and my teeth look great! )

 

[sapdaddy]

All you folks with baby teeth, just remember when it falls out put it under your pillow and you will get a dollar.

 

[daisyduck123]

Have not read all the posts but would like to add...

My grandfather was a dentist & still had a baby tooth until he was in his 60's. Then, he finally decided to get it removed. Why? I don't know. Well, he had one of his dentist friends remove it. The adult tooth never came down & I remember my mom saying he had problems after that but I don't know what they were. I'll have to ask her someday.

He should have left it alone....afterall, he was doing great for 60 some years.

***Also...get a 2nd opinion or retake the x-rays.... When I was in my teens...I had the opposite problem...after looking at some x-rays he had taken...my dentist thought I had a 3rd tooth (beyond my adult tooth). It turns out, that the x-ray had been taken at a funny angle...giving the illusion that I had a 3rd tooth up there.