My son is six year’s old. He has never had a problem with his teeth until recently. In fact, he’s never even needed to go to the dentist. The issue we’re having is that he has some adult teeth coming in but the baby teeth are not loose. Should I take him in to see the dentist?
Amy
Dear Amy,
I am glad you wrote. I can tell you care about your son a great deal and want the best for him. If you can’t wiggle the teeth out yourself, then you will need to take him to the dentist to have them removed. Otherwise, if they’re left in place, the adult teeth will be deflected. This will lead to bite problems as he gets older, as well as expensive orthodontics.
Because this will be his first dental appointment your son has ever had, I want it to be as easy as possible for him. My suggestion is that you find a pediatric dentist who also has dental sedation available. This way he can sleep through the procedure. You don’t want his first appointment to have any trauma. This will sour him on the dentist for most of his life.
While I understand why many parents feel like if there isn’t a problem then they don’t need to take their young child to the dentist, this leads to their first dental appointment being a more painful invasive one, sometimes as a dental emergency. Then, they associate the dentist with that throughout childhood making them afraid to go.
My suggestion is that even if you get the teeth out yourself you take him in to see the dentist. This way he can have a fun appointment where he just gets his teeth cleaned.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.