Adult teeth coming through - anyone know much about it?

[katepol]

DD is 6 and has not lost any teeth yet - none are even wobbly, much to her displeasure as everyone else in her class (Yr 2) have been dropping them out since reception.
Anyway, aside from the fact that her baby teeth falling out is taking its time, it appears that she has got at least 3 new molars coming though in the space at the back of her gums. I didn't realise that teeth could come through before the baby teeth were lost - is is normal? The teeth coming through are causing her quite a bit of pain too, and I have not heard of other children being bothered by this.
Any words of wisdom?

[sandcastles]

That is perfectly normal. They are called the 6 year molars & are her first adult permanent teeth, so need lots of attention when brushing as they have deep fissures & food can get stuck in there easier.

I wouldn't worry too much about her not having lost any, the longer she can hold onto them the better, as her adult teeth are obv not wanting to come through yet.

Basically as the adult teeth start to push up, this causes the root of the baby teeth to resorb, hence why they get wobbly & fall out as tiny teeth with no roots.

Once they fall out the other teeth can start to drift & this can cause problems when adult teeth do finally come through. With crowding etc. So it is better that the baby teeth are held in for as long as possible to make sure the adult teeth pop through quite soon after the baby teeth are lost. This isn't a fail safe way to prevent crowding, but can help.

Of course, all children are different & the ages stipulated for teeth falling out/coming through is really just a gues-timate.

I am sure she will loose some sooner than you think!

[sandcastles]

Oh & pain is perfectly normal. She is teething again. These will also be bigger, so can hurt more.

Whatever she normally has for pain will be fine.

[katepol]

Thank you so much Sandcastles, you sound very knowledgable - are you a dentist?

It is good to hear that DD hanging on to her baby teeth is a good thing - I will tell her that!

It is just odd that I have never heard of any other childrn suffering from teething this time around - she was in a lot of pain and pale and sad this weekend with it.

Btw, does the fact that these molars are coming through now mean that the rest of her adult teeth are likely to make an appearance soon too, or is is just one of those 'how long is a piece of string things'?

[southeastastra]

my ds(6) has one adult molar. i didn't even notice the dentist pointed it out.

[sandcastles]

No worries, you're welcome. I was a dental nurse for to long before dd came along.

It is 'how long is a piece of string" i am afraid.

She will continue to get adult teeth now until she is around 12. Then at 18-25 her wisdom teeth wil start to come in.