It can be tough to know what to do when your child- or loved one- has loose teeth; while many want to go ahead and pull it out, it may be detrimental, even damaging, to do so. Know that each mouth has 20 baby teeth and it is normal to start losing them at around six years of age. The earlier your child developed teeth, the sooner they will lose them in lieu of their permanent, adult teeth. So, how do you get baby teeth to come out? What should you do- and not do- if you have a loose tooth?
Wiggle It
Give your loose tooth a gentle wiggle to help loosen it further, and the tooth will naturally fall out when ready. Show your child how to wiggle the tooth to gradually help it along. Wiggling too hard or pushing on the tooth before it is ready to come out can hurt. Go slow and wiggle it!
Get a Grip
If you are going to touch and try to pull out the tooth, use a piece of gauze or cotton pad to get a better grip. Plus, this provides a bit of a bacterial buffer when putting your fingers in your- or your child’s- mouth.
Eat Something
Eating a hard apple or crunchy carrot can also help get a loose tooth to come out. Something cold and firm, like a popsicle, can also reduce discomfort and numb the area around the loose tooth.
Brush and Floss
If you want the loose tooth to come, try brushing and flossing. This is effective at getting a loose tooth that is ready to come out. Use an up-and-down technique to brush around the loose tooth, rather than a side-to-side method. Be gentle when flossing around the roots of the loose tooth.
Be Patient
Finally, be patient. Don’t try to pull out a tooth before it is ready. A sign that it is not yet ready is bleeding. Excessive bleeding merits a trip to your dental provider pronto.
Also, you should know that pulling out a baby tooth before it is organically ready to come out can cause spacing issues with your adult teeth later-on. When teeth are lost before the adult tooth underneath is ready to come through the gum, the other teeth surrounding this space may move and cause crowding or crookedness.
Concerned about the spacing of your permanent teeth? Talk to the orthodontic experts at Reese Braces today to learn more or to schedule an appointment.