What To Know About Extracting A Child's Baby Tooth

Posted on: 24 November 2020

Has a trip to your kid's dentist resulted in hearing that one of your child's baby teeth needs to be removed? If so, you may be wondering why this is even necessary, especially when baby teeth eventually fall out. Here are some things to know about this dental procedure when young children are involved. 

Baby Teeth Extractions Are Easier Than Adult Tooth Extractions

You may be a bit shocked to know that your kid needs to have a tooth removed, but it is actually going to be a lot less invasive than you think. If you've personally had an adult tooth extracted, you likely think that your kid is going to go through the exact same procedure. The good news is that baby teeth are simply much easier to extract because they are already on their way out, and do not have a root system that has fully grown. For example, if a child's front tooth needs to be extracted, that is going to be easier than a rear molar extraction because the front tooth only has one root. 

Baby Teeth May Need To Be Extracted To Make Room For Adult Teeth

A problem some children run into that may require an extraction is commonly known as shark teeth. This is when the adult teeth start to grow behind the baby teeth, so the baby teeth do not easily come out. It's possible they will eventually come out if they are wiggling already, but if the baby teeth are not budging at all then they will need to be extracted. This will make room for the adult teeth behind them, and hopefully the adult teeth will gradually move into the proper position. If not, it may require orthodontics to correct them when the child is older. 

Baby Teeth May Need To Be Extracted After Trauma 

Another reason why your dentist may decide to extract a baby tooth is if it suffered some sort of trauma and there is no way to save the tooth. For example, a tooth may break due to an accident, and there is no way to save it by bonding it back together. The best solution may be to remove the rest of the tooth that is still in the gums, and the adult tooth will eventually grow in when it is ready. A spacer can be placed where the baby tooth once was to prevent surrounding adult teeth from shifting into the gap. 

Speak to a pediatric dentist for more information. 

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