Panic over sons tooth!

[OompapaOompapa]

Ds is 9 and lost his baby teeth when he was quite young. He hasn't lost a tooth in years now. But tonight he complained one of his bottom side teeth was wobbly and when I looked it is!

His overall oral health isn't bad. He was only at the dentist a few weeks back and other than demanding less sugar the dentist didn't raise any issues. He says he hasn't bumped it or bitten into anything hard. I'm starting to wonder if this is one rogue baby tooth that never came out with the rest. Is this common years later? Usually I'd ring the dentist but I'm reluctant to go at the moment and it's not causing him pain.

I'm concerned that it's an adult tooth coming out. What do I do?!

It’s very unlikely to be an adult tooth. At 9 he will probably have about 12 baby teeth left. 6 at top, 6 at bottom (3 each side)
The very back ones will be adult, but the two or three in front of those will be baby teeth.

It’s really normal that baby teeth come out in two groups, the front ones between age 6-8, the others between 9-12. Try not to panic! Your dentist should be open at least for phone calls if you’re still worried though.

That's a relief. It is one of those three in front of the back molars. But he hasn't lost a tooth for many many years now so I just found it a bit odd. I'd assumed all of his baby teeth had gone. He lost most of them at a much younger age to his peers, even the dentist was surprised.

It will almost certainly be the adult premolar pushing out the baby molar. Totally normal age for this and they do go through a lull where they don’t lose any teeth for a while.

I had a double set of baby canines, last one didn't come out until I was 14. So even if that exact tooth has come out before it still might be a baby tooth. I think his dental records should show if there are baby teeth left, so they might be able to reassure you without having to go in.

DS is 12 and only recently lost a baby tooth. From memory I think children have 20 baby teeth and it takes a while to lose them all.

Don’t panic! It will be a baby tooth. DS started losing his at 4, had lost all his incisors (front 8) by the time he turned 7, and then nothing since! He’s now 10 and his canines are wobbly so he’s gearing up to lose a few more.

I remember having loose baby premolars in the early years of secondary school, and struggling to chew food because I was scared of dislodging them; it was so long after losing my front baby teeth I’d forgotten that it didn’t hurt!

You can google ‘children’s teeth’ and find a picture of them and the order in which they should fall out and be replaced.

My ds at 10 has recently lost those ones, ages after the front 4

Can you remember how many he has lost?

Because they lose the front ten, top and bottom. 20 in total. Does that make sense?

DD is 10, almost 11 and lost one or maybe two around a year ago, she still has a few baby teeth left. It's likely to be a baby one.

It’s normal don’t worry. My 9 year old has lost 5 teeth this year. The last time he lost teeth he was 4 or 5.