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5 year old DD lost her first tooth. Isn't this too young?

42 replies

makemineaquadruple · 10/01/2012 18:58

Evening all!

I'll keep it brief as the title pretty much sums up my question.

I always thought that teeth weren't supposed to come out till at least the age of 7 or 8. I feel gutted in a way. I know it sounds strange, it's only a tooth afterall, but she seems too young to have lost her first one! To top it all off, she lost it in the playground at school, which is awful. I wasn't even there to comfort her. If it were her second, third etc I wouldn't be as bothered, but the idea of her first little tooth lost in the grass or mud, I find a little heartbreaking.

Anyway, going back to my original question, how common is it to lose your tooth this young?

Thanks Smile

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Whatevertheweather · 10/01/2012 19:01

I thought it was 6+ too but 2 of my dd's little friends have lost teeth recently and they are just turned 5.

My dd is coming up 5 in March and no sign of any wobbles yet.

sevenbubbles · 10/01/2012 19:04

Are you sure she didn't knock it out? I remember my teeth wobbling for a week or so before they came out.

My dd knocked her top front out just before her 3td birthday - there was a lot of blood do I would think that she would know if that was what happened.

I believe my dn lost hers at 5, but the adult ones took a long time to come through.

Hth. No doubt someone who knows will be along soon!

CMOTDibbler · 10/01/2012 19:09

5 seems to be pretty normal - ds is 5 and will loose his first v soon, and among his class there are lots of gaps

bigTillyMint · 10/01/2012 19:12

My DS lost loads in reception - he might have even still been 4 when the first one came out, so she's not the only one! He had all his adult by the time he was 10.

Karoleann · 10/01/2012 19:13

My 5.5 lost his first a couple of months ago and now number 2 is wobbly, he's the 5/6th in the class out of 15 to loose teeth so fairly normal.
I was 9 when I lost my first so will be interested to see whether dc 2 and 3 follow me of DH

discrete · 10/01/2012 19:14

Ds1 lost his at 4 (a few days before his 5th) and I was also stumped. He had been complaining about a tooth for a few days, but I couldn't see anything weird so was thinking of taking him to the dentist.

Then one evening he said 'it feels like it's going to fall off' and lo and behold it fell off just a few minutes later.

It seems quite common these days, though in my day it was definitely 7! (old fogey emoticon)

Another of his cousins also lost a couple of teeth before her 5th.

taurean · 10/01/2012 19:17

My ds lost 2 within a month when he was 5.5 but 6 months on no more! He certainly wasn't the first in his class!

Dillydollydaydream · 10/01/2012 19:24

My ds was 5.5 when his first tooth fell out. I thought it was quite early but a few of his friends have got gaps/adult teeth too.

gamerwidow · 10/01/2012 19:26

My neice was 5 when her first couple of teeth fell out so it's within normal range.

HuwEdwards · 10/01/2012 19:28

DD was 4 when her first fell out (still at nursery).

sevenbubbles · 10/01/2012 19:29

Out of interest, how soon after did the adult teeth start to come through ?

slalomsuki · 10/01/2012 19:29

I have the opposite problem now. DS1 lost one tooth at 5 then at the age of 10 hasn't lost any more. Dentist isn't worried that no other teeth haven't appeared and he has no gaps.

Rikalaily · 10/01/2012 19:35

Dd1 lost her first teeth when she was 5, she is very big for her age, not sure if that has anything to do with it, she's the same size as my 9 year old son and wears 8-9 some 9-10 clothes, she's very tall! Her adult teeth have come through within a few weeks, but the first one she lost didn't fall out until the adult tooth had already come partially through behind it. She's lost a tooth every few months since, she's 7 next month and has about 8-9 adult teeth now.

My ds was about 6.5 when he lost his first tooth.

DontCallMeBaby · 10/01/2012 19:38

sevenbubbles DD's first teeth to come out took SIX MONTHS from first wobble to falling out, and the adult teeth were well established by then, if that gives you an idea.

She looked like a shark.

First wobbler was at age 4.9 (and I was on here asking if it was normal ...) and she had lost all the first 'batch' of eight incisors by 7.6. The only actual gaps were the outer upper ones, as the others so long to come out, she never had that big gap in the front, I was so disappointed!

makemineaquadruple · 10/01/2012 19:38

Thanks everyone! You have put my mind at rest.

I have to say though, I really wasn't expecting to get this reaction. I did do a bit of googling when it first became wobbly and I heard that it's possible, but rare. From the sounds of it though, it's not that rare.

I know we have more to worry about as parents than teeth falling out a little early, but i was just really shocked. Her teeth are so tiny, they just don't look ready. God, I know I sound a little mushy and patheticBlush

OP posts:
magso · 10/01/2012 19:41

Ds lost his first tooth on his fifth birthday, and the second one was knocked out at school a few weeks later.

makemineaquadruple · 10/01/2012 19:41

Rik, yes my dd is tall for her age too actually. At 2 she looked more like a 4 or 5 year old. Her speech is a little behind so it just added to the confusion because people would talk to her expecting to get the response from a 4 or 5 year old and then get a response more of an 18 month old.

I wonder if being physically developed in other ways beens they have more of a chance of losing their teeth early. Makes sense I suppose.

OP posts:
DontCallMeBaby · 10/01/2012 19:42

All the stuff I found when googling was pretty rubbish - almost as prescriptive as dreadful developmental milestone things that say 'your child will crawl at 9 months'.

I'm guessing it's a bottom incisor that's come out, as they're usually first? They are so, so tiny, I'm sure they come out just to torment us. Then before you know it you have a 7yo with great big rabbity teeth. Sob.

(nb DD has perfectly nice teeth, it's just the top ones are in isolation at the moment and she WILL keep biting her lip)

Hulababy · 10/01/2012 19:44

I work in Y1 and lots of children have already lost teeth by the time they join us - so lots at age 5y, and even more during the year.

DD got her teeth late - first one at 13m - and then lost her teeth late. She was the only one in her class not to have lost a tooth for several months, not losing her first one til the summer holidays, aged 7y4m.

ggirl · 10/01/2012 19:46

ds lost a few teeth age 5

Egg · 10/01/2012 19:47

My ds1 is nearly 6 and has not lost any, but he is definitely in a minority at school.

peeriebear · 10/01/2012 19:51

DD1 lost her first teeth at 4! However she was teething at 4 months ("Oh no she won't be teething" said MW... lo and behold there they were)

TeWihara · 10/01/2012 20:00

peerie - my DD was the same, first tooth at 4mths, she had them all by 11mths!

A dentist I spoke to reckons we loose our baby tooth at roughly the same no of years as the mth they arrived in, so expecting her to loose her first tooth at 4yo too.

DeWe · 10/01/2012 20:19

No, I'd say 5 was about average. I think the range of age I've seen is 4 (only just-and he lost all of his front ones in quick succession) to about 7yo, but most have lost teeth by 6yo. Dd1 was the last child in her form to lose a tooth (trauma for her it was Grin) and she is right at the older end of the year. She lost her first on the last day of year 1. The majority in her form were summer borns too.

survivingwinter · 10/01/2012 20:37

My DD has 2 wobbly teeth and she is 4.5 yrs - I am desperately hoping she'll hold onto them for a bit longer as I can't bear the thought of them coming out already Sad

DS didn't lose his first tooth until age 6 Confused