Conference moira::parenting

        Frank,

    Don't worry!  From what my dentist told me, the longer it takes to cut
    the initial baby teeth, and then to get the adult teeth, the stronger
    the teeth are!  Now, this could be an old wives tale, but Brent, my
    almost 19 year old, has gorgeous teeth!  He was in braces for 2 years,
    because he had 2 baby teeth that refused to come out, and caused the
    adult teeth to come in crooked... but the teeth themselves are nicely
    shaped, and nice and white....

    Plus, my husband... step-father to Brent, had a baby tooth up until 4
    years ago (he was 28 years old)... it just never came out.... and an
    adult tooth never came in!  It's hereditary with him... every other
    generation has some kind of baby tooth/teeth that stay in place.  His
    grandfather had 3!

    M-L
    

    I was actually concerned when Caileigh lost her tooth because I thought
    it was too young.  (I called the dentist and he said no problem.)  But
    part of the reason I didn't expect it so soon is that my niece Cindy
    did not lose any of hers until she was eight.  She's now 10 and the new
    ones have come in just fine.  I wouldn't worry!
    

    
    According to my mother, I got my first tooth at 1 yr and 3 months. (My
    first birthday pictures show me with a big toothless grin!!). I lost my
    first baby tooth when I was 10.  Lost the last molar at 16.  It was
    never considered a problem.
    
    BTW, both my kids got their first tooth at 1+.  I guess it is
    hereditary.
    
    Pam

    I'm 38 and *still* haven't got two of my adult teeth! :^)
    
    I was born without them (the 5th teeth back on top).
    
    I had the baby teeth capped until just recently when the
    roots system finally gave and they fell out.
    
    
    Jodi-
    

    My question (with some background)....
    
    AJ just lost his first two baby teeth, the bottom center ones.  The
    adult teeth were over half way up before they fell out.  He had seen
    the dentist on the 28th of December, and we were told that if they
    wern't out within two weeks they would have to be removed.  (not a
    pleasant thing to look forward to).  He lost his first one that night,
    and the second one last night. 
    
    First, what's the "going rate" from the tooth fairy?  I know this sound
    really stupid, but it's another one of those "I've got no experience in
    this" things.
    
    Second, because the adult teeth were so far in when the baby teeth fell
    out, his adult teeth look pretty crooked.  Will they straighten out, or
    am I looking at braces in a few years?
    
    What's the usual progression for loosing teeth?  He lost these teeth in
    the same order as they came in, which ones should be the next to fall
    out; top-centers, or the ones besdide the bottom ones?
    
    I was rather surprised at how much the gums bled, considering that they
    seemed so ready to come out.  I only remember bleeding when they were
    "helped out" before it was actually time.
    
    Lyn
    
    (I am back, have been back a couple weeks.  But it's only brief, the
    TAG jobs are extememly scarce of late.  I will probably be moving on
    next week.  I've really missed my "noting family" the last few months)

    TOOTH FAIRY - whatever you want.  I did something that I thought was
    special for Kyle's first tooth.  It was summer and I sprinkled "pixie
    dust" on his window sill and on the bed and under the pillow.  I was so
    psyched!  Slipped $ under the pillow and stole the tooth.
    
    Next morning he woke and told me the tooth fairy took his tooth, left
    him some money and made a mess of his bed!  8^(  Can I please tell her
    to be a little neater next time?!
    
    Once I left him a half dollar - that meant more than anything to him so
    far.  I can't remember the first amount, but the second was a half
    dollar and the third was a single one dollar bill.
    
    Kyle's second teeth pushed the first out also.  His second teeth are
    also crooked, but seem to be settling in a little better than they
    started out.  Give it time before you start saving the $$ for braces. 
    They may move into place on their own.
    
    I think Kyle's are coming out in the order they came in, too.  I
    haven't cross checked with his baby book.
    
    -sandy
    

re: .5

Good to hear from you again.  How's AJ doing?

For us it's been a dollar.  I remember reminiscing (make that complaining) 
about how I used to get a nickel, later raised to a dime.  Then I remembered 
that back then, I could buy an ice cream cone for a nickel (one scoop) or a 
dime (two scoops).  An ice cream cone today costs about . . .

Clay 

    Chris has lost his 2 bottom teeth.  The first one fell out at school
    and he lost the tooth, so we left a note for the tooth fairy.  The
    tooth fairy left him $1.00.  The second one fell out at home, and she
    left $1.00 for that also.  I do believe they're falling out in the
    order they came in.
    
    Chris has large spaces between his teeth, but in both cases the adult
    teeth were mostly in before the baby teeth fell out.  The adult teeth
    were INCREDIBLY crooked.  Now, a few months later, they've both
    straightened out BEAUTIFULLY, and are perfect.  Here's hoping the top
    ones are the same!  The dentist told us that because he has so much
    room in his mouth, that he shouldn't have any trouble with his teeth,
    and they should be able to come in straight.  His baby teeth are also
    very straight, if that matters ....
    
    My boyfriend's daughter got $10.00 when her first tooth fell out ....
    They're looking at $300.00! just from the tooth fairy!  A little rich
    for my blood!!
    
    Another thought would be to leave "collectable" money - $2.00 bills, or
    Susan B. Anthony dollars, or something for them to save.
    
    The fun REALLY begins now!!
    
    Patty

First, my dentist told me that without fault, the adult teeth come if in the
exact order that the baby teeth came in.  This has been true in our case.

We give 50 cent pieces for each tooth and Amy just loves it.  I have a slew of
them put aside for just this reason.  Her bank is getting so heavy these days.
Can you believe that her upper front teeth came out in back-to-back nights?!
Geeze, the tooth fairy was tired, but true to what the dentist said (I can check
because her baby book had this mouth diagram and I documented when her teeth
came in).

Have fun and hang on to that magic as long as we can huh!

    My mom managed to scare up a supply of *silver dollars*, so that's what
    Alex has received from the T.F., along with some tiny star-shaped fairy
    dust!
    
    Problem with the silver dollars, though--after having received the
    second on, Alex took them both to school to show her friends, then
    promptly lost them on the playground (hanging by her knees from the
    jungle gym, she thinks).  New rule: no silver dollars leave the house!
    
    Sorry, but I don't believe .9's dentist (if "without fault" means
    every child's teeth always fall out in the order in which they grew
    in).  Alex's first tooth was the lower right central incisor, but both
    *adult* lower central incisors came in together BEHIND the baby teeth
    AND at a 45-degree angle!  (Explain that, Dr. Without-Fault.)  Alex's
    dentist said she sees this phenomenon several times *a week*; Alex was
    given "tooth homework"--wiggle baby teeth whenever possible, except in
    school (some teachers just don't understand, or don't believe it's an Rx). 
    The dentist also said that in most cases those diagonally-skewed teeth
    will, basically, drift downstage and face front, and that's exactly
    what happened with Alex.  The tongue has a lot to do with getting those
    teeth to behave.
    
    Leslie
    

    I took the "without fault" comment to mean "barring unusual
    circumstances", like being hit in the mouth or something.  I thought it
    meant that unless there was some sort of accident, the baby teeth would
    fall out and be replaced in the same order that they came in.
    
                                               Tracy

    Just a question.  We just noticed last night that our daughter
    Lindsay (age 5 1/2) has 2 "adult" teeth growing in behind her lower
    2 baby teeth.  I don't know how long they've been coming in but they're
    almost as high as the baby teeth, but wider.  I see in a few notes back
    that this happens.  Someone mentioned the dentist recommending the
    baby teeth be removed at some point if they don't fall out.  Her baby
    teeth are not in the least bit loose at this point.  They look kind
    of strange but don't seem to be bothering her.  Does anyone know what
    the reason(s) for removal of the baby teeth might be ?  Could they
    hinder the development of the adult teeth ?  They don't appear to be
    crooked (either set) right now, but the adult teeth are a bit far back
    on the gum due to the fact that the first set is taking up the front
    row seats ?
    
    Thanks for any info.  I didn't think I'd be dealing with this issue
    so soon , they grow up too fast !
    
    Sharon

    If in doubt ask your dentist.  My son's baby teeth were pushed out by
    his adult teeth.  It took a number of weeks to complete the task.  Once
    his baby teeth became loose, we insisted he wiggle them when watching
    TV or whenever was convenient for him.  The dentist did tell us they
    were OK for now, that if it went on too long, he would pull.  Luckily
    all his teeth came out without the dentist's help.  
    
    
    -sandy
    

    Does anyone know about the "normal" age for losing the front teeth that
    are next to the two middle front teeth??  Chris had a field day at
    school yesterday, and bumped into someone running, and knocked out one
    of those teeth.  It wasn't particularly loose, and there's no adult
    tooth in sight.  BTW - he seems to be running ~12-18 mos behind other
    kids in losing teeth.  He's 8 and still has his baby top front teeth,
    and only one of them is a LITTLE loose.
    
    Just curious how long there'll be a hole there ....
    
    Of course most of his devastation came from the fact that he couldn't
    find the tooth for the tooth fairy!!  (-:
    
    Thanks,
    Patty
    

    My oldest was 6 and my youngest (now 6) hasn't started yet.  But both
    kids started getting their teeth in the 5-6 month old range when they
    were babies....
    
    I wouldn't worry about the gap - at least it won't be much longer.  My
    friend's son lost his front teeth to the dreaded "milk mouth".  He's
    now six and she can't wait for the new teeth!  I'll probably not
    recognize him with teeth!
    
    -sandy
    

What's 'Milk Mouth"?

    Putting your child to sleep with a bottle of milk - the milk enzymes will
    rot the teeth.
    
    -sandy
    

    About why you would remove a baby tooth--
    
    Caileigh had to have one baby tooth removed because the adult tooth
    that was coming in (crooked; she has a very crowded mouth) was breaking
    the baby tooth and the dentist was concerned that the baby tooth would
    break off, leaving the base under the gums.  It showed up in the
    x-rays.  The other reason he pulled the second two top teeth (the ones
    next to the front two) was because her mouth is so crowded, her teeth
    are all coming in crooked.  (Braces are a definite.)  By pulling those,
    it allowed her top front teeth to come in straight at least.  
    
    Caileigh has lost eight teeth, six "naturally" and two pulled.  The
    holes from the six that came out on their own were filled immediately
    (within a few days).  I was kind of disappointed because I think kids
    that age are so cute with a hole in their mouths, but I'm not as fond
    of seeing the big teeth they haven't "grown into" yet. 
    
    The other two (the ones next to the front two) were pulled six months ago
    and there is no sign of adult teeth yet.  
    
    BTW, Caileigh is six and she started losing her teeth as soon as she
    was 5 1/2.   She started getting her baby teeth at three months.  
    
    In the case of the adult teeth coming in as you described, I think I
    would have the dentist check it out.
    
    -Tracy

    Matt (now age 8-1/2 yrs) had to have his two baby front top teeth pulled
    due to a fall - the dentist wanted to take them out in case there was
    damage and to allow the adult teeth to come in without problems -----
    it was A YEAR later that the first adult tooth came in and another couple
    months after that for the second !!!!!

    Just recently, he had two more baby teeth (bottom, third from center on
    each side) pulled due, as another parent said, to a crowded mouth - he
    had lost one baby tooth on the bottom naturally but the adult tooth
    couldn't come up because the next-door baby tooth was blocking it !!  We
    have been extremely lucky to find an orthodontist who does a lot of 
    work with kids and now have Matt in an Early Treatment program to try
    to do some straightening/movement of teeth as his adult teeth come in -
    with lots of luck it will minimize (if not eliminate) the need for full-
    fledged braces once all his adult teeth are in !!!

    One thing I had hoped NOT to pass along to my son, but Oh, Well !!!!

    AJ lost his lower center teeth almost exactly on his sixth birthday, to
    date not even a hint that the upper front teeth are even close to
    budging.  Thanks for bringing it up, I too was wondering when the upper
    fronts get loose.  I too Love those toothless pictures!
    
    My nephew will be 6 on Sept 3, he lost both bottom front teeth within
    24 hours on July 4th.  He gets to "double dip" the tooth fairy, since
    he is living with my inlaws for the next year.  The tooth fairy visited
    the night he lost the teeth, and will visit again next week when his
    father comes to visit for a weekend! ( I didn't ask my Mother inlaw how
    she's explaining that second visit, but she will probably handle it
    quite well)
    
    So WHEN do you loose the top front teeth normally?
    
    Lyn

    
    Well, since I wrote my last note, Chris has lost both his top front
    teeth.  He was 8 in May, and according to the dentist is a little
    "behind" other kids.  One of his adult teeth is on it's way in, the
    other is nowhere to be seen at all.  With those 2 gone, and the one
    that got knocked out, he's a pretty funny looking kid right now! (-:
    ...though he still manages corn on the cob! 
    
    He's had his bottom front adult teeth for about 6 mos I'd guess.  NOT
    the same order his baby teeth came in.

    My daughter is 3.5 years old.  About a year ago she fell and bruised
    the nerve on her two top front teeth.  We discovered this when she
    would cry when she tried to bite into something.  The dentist ended
    up doing a root canal.  Everything was fine until about a month ago. I
    noticed a bump on her gum above the tooth and brought her to the
    dentist.  The tooth had absessed, so he put her on antibiotics and 
    drained the abscess. Two weeks later the same thing happened.  This
    time the dentist said the only thing to do is to pull the tooth.
    
    I took her for a second opinion and was told that root canals don't
    always work in baby teeth and yes, my only option was to pull the
    tooth.  So, she had the tooth pulled last week.
    
    Now the dentist is telling us that she needs to have some type of a
    space retainer where the tooth was.  He says that if we do nothing
    the space will close as her mouth grows and will have a big impact 
    on her permanent teeth.  He said the permanent tooth probably won't
    come in until she is about 8 years old.  He recommends taking
    impressions and making a bridge for her.  I am not comfortable with a
    three year old having a removeable bridge in her mouth.  Also, since
    her mouth will continue to grow, the bridge will have to be replaced
    every year or so.
    
    Has anyone had experience with this?  I plan on getting a second
    opinion, but some first-hand experience would help.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Jill
    

    Hi, Jill!
    
    I think you did the right thing getting a second opinion.  Maybe you
    should do that again regarding the retainer.   It's conceivable that
    the new tooth won't come in until she's eight, but probable?  Was that
    intended to be a worst case scenario?  Or was it based on an assessment
    of her mouth?    
    
    For what my experience is worth, Caileigh got her four front adult teeth 
    while she was five.  Paige just turned five (11 days ago) and she has
    an adult tooth coming in already.  I know that's really early, but
    eight seems really late.
    
    If you get a second opinion and he or she says to get a retainer, at
    least you'll feel more comfortable with the decision.
    
    -Tracy
    
    
    
    I 

    My son (5.5 years) fell of his bike this past summer and 
    had one of his top teeth extracted due to the damage.
    No mention was ever made of a bridge or any problems due
    to the newly created space!
    
    Good luck ..I think you're doing the right thing by getting
    that second opinion.
    
    Nancy

Keeping that space open may be important.  I'm sure that individual cases
will vary, but here's my experience.

I used to wear something called a "spacer" which was intended to keep
space open for one of my impacted molars to come in.  I had to wear it 
8 hours/day for a long time.  Eventually my dentist told me that I wouldn't
need to wear it anymore, so I stopped.  A few years later, that impacted
molar came in -- directed toward my tongue because there was no longer
enough space for it to come in where it belonged.  The molar had to be pulled
and I still have a substantial (though smaller than tooth-sized) gap between
molars.

Now, it's possible that the original gap was never large enough for that
molar, and maybe I would have lost that tooth even if I'd worn the spacer
until it came in, but I wonder...

- Deb

    I fell on my two front teeth when I was little and damaged the nerve. 
    When I had braces as an adult the X-rays showed two tiny roots at the
    top of my front teeth.  This fall sort of killed the roots (or
    something) and they never grew.  However, I still have my teeth, but I
    had a molar just several teeth away was giving me trouble and I went to
    a dentist that wanted to pull it - this was when I was an adult.  I
    wouldn't let him pull it till I went back to my orthodontist who told
    me to *never* let anyone pull anything (except wisdom) without seeing
    him first.  Because the teeth will float over to fill that gap AND my
    two front teeth will start to move and that will be the finish of them,
    since the roots are so damaged.  He said that anything that needs to be
    pulled needs to have a filler in it too.  Fortunately another dentist
    saved my molar so that's okay, but I was glad to get the advice of my
    orthodontist on pulling and leaving gaps.

      Hi,
    
        I would get the second opinion. My children got their teeth around
    8 years old but I was told that this was a very late age. I have an
    8 year old nephew and he's had his two top teeth since 5. The reason
    I know they were late was because two of them were going to possibly 
    need braces and was told this around 5 years old. Only one of them
    needed the braces, the other one lucked out. The dentist would make
    comments about the fact that they hadn't lost their teeth yet. He
    told me that in a lot of ways it was good because they were older
    and better able to take care of them. 
    
        Take care,
    
        Rose Marchand

    Jill,
    I had a space problem when my milk teeth fell out early - because of 
    the order the permanent teeth arrived, and because the dentist never
    put in a spacer, he was forced to pull one of my adult teeth so the 
    others could grow in. The result is that my two front teeth are offset
    to one side (a little). 
    
    For my brother, the same thing happened with his lower teeth, and 
    the dentist DID put a spacer in. My mother was very very happy, and 
    at the same time a little annoyed that he never offered to do the 
    same for me.
    
    If it will take even 2 years for the adult teeth to come in, a spacer
    (at least) may be a good idea to preserve the space for the permanent
    teeth, otherwise other permanents may have to be pulled. BTW my
    brother wore his spacer for about 2 years and it did not have to
    be replaced due to growth.
    
    Monica

My 6 year old son has his adult lower front teeth coming in - BEHIND the 
baby teeth!  They are out quite a bit now, and there is no question: they
are not pushing the old teeth out, but have made a separate row.

What is the common thing to do about this?  I understand it happens a lot.
His front teeth are loose, but my guess is that they still have quite a bit
of root left.

We have a dentist appt for tomorrow morning, but my spouse is questioning the
necessity of it, since it appears to be common.

    Carol

	Carol,

	I've never known anyone that this happened to, but anyway...

	I would have the dentist check it out.  Better to be safe than
	sorry.  If he says to leave the teeth alone and let them fall
	out on their own, at least you have the peace of mind that you're
	doing the right thing.

	Karen T.

    This happened to my oldest son.  The dentist wasn't concerned as the
    baby teeth WERE loose.  They took awhile to come out but eventually did
    - it's just a pain getting both sets of teeth clean (flossing is a
    necessity).
    
    On the other hand, this same son had one baby tooth that refused to
    loosen.  The adult teeth were coming in all around it and everything
    was crooked.  The dentist did pull this tooth and its root was about
    1/4" long, so, it never would have come out on its own.  Once it was
    out his other teeth got in better positions.
    
    Linda

    We had this happen...our dentist looked at the teeth and said they will
    work themselves out in time.  He told us to have the child wiggle them
    frequently - and gave us a span of time to do this.  He said if they
    aren't out by then he would pull them, but wanted to give mother nature
    and the wigglers time to work at it.  My son was the same age as Evan
    when this happened.  He did get his old teeth out on his own, and the
    new teeth moved right into place.
    
    -sjd
    
    
    

    This situation was the source of Alex's onetime nickname, "Sharkbite"! 
    Not only did the lower teeth come in behind the baby teeth, but they
    were rotated 45 degrees on the vertical axis.  Yeeow!  When I saw that
    start to happen I called Alex's dentist; at the appointment, the
    dentist said "I see this once or twice a... [I thought she'd say
    "week"] DAY.  We'll watch it, but it's not at all uncommon."  The baby
    teeth took their sweet time in falling out, but they eventually did,
    and as predicted by the dentist, the new teeth finally faced front
    (pressure from the tongue, we suspect).
    
    Tee hee, I can't wait to tell Alex!  Let us know what your dentist
    says.
    
    Leslie

    re .32 Sandy, yes, I forgot about the "tooth homework".  Our dentist
    told Alex to wiggle the baby teeth *whenever* she could, although this
    was frowned upon during class time!
    
    Leslie

    
    
    It happened to my sister too, and, yes, I called her "the shark".
    
    Whoever said sisters had to be nice to one another? :-)
    
    Anyway, the dentist said don't worry, and eventually the baby teeth
    fell out on their own.
    
    From all the other notes posted here, it seems like it is a very common
    occurence!
    
    Patricia.

    My 6-year-old had her tooth pulled yesterday - the time limit mentioned
    in other replies was up and the new tooth was almost fully in, behind
    the baby tooth.
    
    Now my 8-year-old has a tooth coming down - over and out - above a baby
    tooth.  The dentist gave her a limit too, but today it started hurting
    so I think time is up.

Evan saw the dentist yesterday, and the dentist said that after the two
baby teeth come out on their own (with lots of help from Evan wiggling them)
then the dentist will need to pull another baby tooth out because there's
not enough room for the adult teeth to fit.  The dentist says that Evan's
mouth is too small for all of his adult teeth to fit.  Can you say big
dentist/orthodontist bills?  

Just to be on the safe side, we're going to get another opinion.

   Carol

    Nick, who will be 5 in September, lost his first tooth yesterday. (no 
    accident involved...it fell out while eating a peach.) My wife wasn't overly
    concerned, but I'm still puzzling over two things:
    
    	1) Isn't 4.5 yrs old kind of young to be losing baby teeth?
    
    	2) What should the root of a baby tooth look like? 
    	He lost a lower incisor, but it resembles a kernal of corn (i.e. sort 
    	of a hollowed-out rim along the bottom, rather than a tapered root.)
    
    We're trying to get a dentist appointment today/tomorrow, as I'm concerned
    that the tooth may somehow have broken off below the gumline. Nick isn't 
    bothered by it (in fact, when I got home he was all excited, talking about 
    how losing his tooth made him a 'big boy') and it hasn't affected his
    appetite.
    
    ANy comments or similar experiences?
    
    Thanks in advance,

    your descritpion sounds like a baby tooth which has beeen lost.  The
    root reabsorbes as the new tooth begins to come in.  
    
    As for age.  My oldest started losing baby teath in kindergarten. 
    Carrie didn't start until the beginning of 2nd grade and she still
    hasn't lost all of her front teeth yet.  She will be 9 the end of
    September.
    
    Different kids, different ages of tooth loss.  
    
    meg

    Re: .38
    
    Sounds like a normal baby tooth to me.  The description is identical to
    the two teeth one of my kids just lost.

    If his first teeth came in early, he will loose them early.  sounds
    like a normal tooth loss.
    
    -s
    

    Don't know if you need another voice but...
    
    All my kids teeth look like that when they fall out.  
    
    

    As a matter-of-fact, you are lucky they DO look like that.  When I was
    young, I had to have two baby teeth pulled by an oral surgeon, because 
    they DID still have roots, and wouldn't come out on their own.
    
    Peggy

    Re: last few
    
    Thanks for the replies. Kathy spoke to ur dentist yesterday, and he
    also agreed with the responses here. "Nothing to worry about, unless
    Nick starting having some discomfort." He also mentioned that kids who
    get teeth early (Nick had at least 2 or 3 by 8 mos., if I recall correctly) 
    tehd to lose them early.
    
    We're trying to line up a pedi dentist affiliated with our HMO (HCHP),
    so that we can determine if this early loss might cause spacing
    problems. Other than that, I guess it's business as usual. 
    
    Thanks again for the feedback.
    
    Freddie 

    Don't be surprised if you see another tooth in the near future.  If
    things work the way they are supposed to, the second tooth will be ripe
    and ready.
    
    -s
    

    re: -.1
    
    I hope a new one comes up soon. My concern at this point is having him
    go for a long period of time without a replacement tooth, and the
    impact that would have on his other teeth. (Not to mention the fact
    that his new trick of squirting water thru the gap is getting real old,
    real fast :^)
    
    We've got at appt with a pedi dentist at HCHP on Monday. Hopefully the
    x-ray will show a new tooth on the way.
    
    Freddie

    Freddie,
    
    It took Carrie a month or so to get a new tooth in when she lost her
    first one.  The others have been just breaking through before she gets
    the old tooth out.
    
    

    Courtney *got* her first tooth at 5 months, and *lost* her 1st
    tooth exactly on her 5th birthday.
    
    As for a spacing problem, the tooth most likely became loose
    and fell out because the 2nd tooth under it is pushing up.  So,
    I wouldn't worry about a spacing problem yet.
    
    Welcome to the world of Tooth Fairies!
    
    Noranne
    

    I don't know if this is related to teeth or not, but I'll ask here
    anyway.
    
    My almmost-5-year-old son David has suddenly started putting things in
    his mouth!  Some background - he very seldom put toys in his mouth as
    an infant/toddler.  He had a pacifier until ager 3, when he decided on
    his own that he was a big boy (on his 3rd birthday!!) and put it away.
    He never went back to it.  Now, all of a sudden, he's got toys in his
    mouth, the zipper from his coat, his hands, everything!  I was
    wondering if his gums were bothering him, maybe his second teeth are
    coming in?  Is this the age for them to start causing some discomfort?
    
    Sarah

    Is he upset about anything?  A lot of time 'oral habits' are a result
    of stress .... New daycare? new school? new friends? bully?
    
    The good part is that at that age he has more ability to get something
    out if he accidentally swallows it, but it's still a concern.
    
    

    My daughter, Sally, was chewing on EVERYTHING last year.  She was 8,
    but her teeth are slow to develop, compared to other kids her age. She
    was getting ready to lose some major (front) teeth - they weren't even
    that loose at the time.
    
    She would chew on her sleeve, her silverware, anything!  
    
    She couldn't even explain why she was doing it - she just felt she "had
    to".  I talked with the dentist and he thought this was quite normal,
    even if I thought it was gross.  He looked at it like a basic instinct
    rather than a habit - it made me think of a puppy with a bone.  After I
    talked with him, I gave Sally a baby teether from the freezer to spare
    her clothes!  She even took it to school.
    
    After those teeth got looser, the habit went away and never returned. 
    
    
                                             

    re .50
    Nothing has changed significantly in his little life.  Same pre-school,
    same schedule, no problems that he has told me about (and I've asked).
    Just seems kind of odd to start after all this time.  When he was
    younger, he was also cleaner.  I just cringe when I see those filthy
    fingers in his mouth!  He has a dentist appointment in a few weeks,
    maybe the dentist can shed some light.  I can't see anything out of the
    ordinary when I look in his mouth.  
    Sarah

    How long from the first wiggle does it take a tooth to fall out? David
    (will be 6 in December) has a loose tooth on the bottom and the top.
    It's been about 1 week since he discovered they were loose.  Another
    week or so?  He refuses to try to wiggle them along - says it's
    "gross".  
    Sarah

   Well, I don't recall exactly, but I believe it was at least a couple
   of weeks, and maybe more for my daughter who has lost several now.
   Depending on how much pulling they are willing to accept, it may get
   down to the tooth hanging on by that last thread before it actually
   lets go and falls out.  
   
   Or it may only last until that next altercation when the tooth
   accidentally gets knocked out by a sibling!  :-)   [Yes, we've seen it
   go both ways around our house... :-)  ]
   
   ymmv,
   
   - Tom

    Hi Sarah,
    
    Lauren refused to wiggle hers along too.  Her adult tooth actually was
    the thing that pushed it out.
    
    Roberta

    Keep an eye on the teeth, tho, and make sure the adult tooth doesn't
    get too far along -- bothmy kids had to have their bottom teeth pulled
    by the dentist -- took about 5 seconds each, but both of their bottom
    adult teeth were in, just behind the baby teeth. My daughter seems to
    have this happen chronically with most of her teeth, and it takes a
    while for the adult teeth to move into the proper position.
    
    Only my son works at loosening his teeth -- i draw the line at helping
    {yuk!}
    
    sandy
    

    
    how about giving him an apple or something a bit tough to chew?
    the tooth my stick to it and get pulled out.
    
    that's what happened to my sister when she was small.  we were
    munching on sugar canes.  she bit into it and when she finished her
    bite the lose tooth had come off and was left stuck into the sugar
    cane.  don't know where you'll get sugar cane around here but i
    think you get the idea.
    
    jo
    

    My daughter is almost obsessive about working on her loose teeth until
    they came out.    Once they are loose, she is constantly wiggling it.
    
    Her first tooth did come out when she bit into an apple......
    
    The remaining ones, she worked on them until she could pull it out
    herself...

It's been more than a month for one of Evan's top teeth.  It's been "very" loose
for probably at least 3 weeks.

His bottom front teeth didn't come out until the replacements were fully or
mostly up and behind them (Leslie's "shark bite").  Eventually, I think
the replacements wore away the roots of the hangers-on.  They're just fine now
(old ones gone, new ones in the right place).

        Carol

    
    Why do you want the baby teeth out?  With Chris it's usually about a
    month from when it starts to get loose, to when the tooth actually
    falls out.  He refuses to pull/wiggle them himself - probably MY fault
    - I once told him if he pulls it out TOO soon, it'll bleed more.  He 
    HATES blood, so is perfectly content to let it wiggle on his own.
    
    Jason is 7 1/2 and still has all his baby teeth, and no sign of
    anything loose yet.  I have late teethers ........
    
    Give him some caramels if it's REALLY bugging you, but if you leave it 
    alone, it'll come right along.  And if he waits till the adult tooth is
    in, it'll give you that much more time to get the Christmas Pics
    without a big hole in his mouth (-;
    
    

    
    I am at this point puzzled, but panicking yet. It struck me
    last night that my daughter's (10 years old) adult teeth are way 
    too small to be normal. She was telling me that her teeth were
    the smallest amongst her friends', I stared at them for a while
    and realized there was something wrong. Her top front teeth look
    normal in width but they are half grown in lengthwise. Her bottom
    teeth are 1/2 the width of mine (and I don't have big teeth) and 
    there are gaps between them. Her dentist never mentioned
    any problems. I intend to bring this up during the next visit.
    But have anyone experience such abnormality? I understand they
    can be capped to look and work right, but they are strange.
    
    
    Eva
    
    

    Eva,
    
    if they are straight and functional do bring it up with the dentist but
    don't worry too much.  could be worse, Carrie inherited my teeth which
    are quite large, and a normal-sized mouth.  My dentist and I see
    expensive orthodontia in her future, but with her late loss of any
    teeth, chances are it will be pushed out until she is 14.  
    
    meg