Young children are expected to have all 20 baby teeth in by the time they are three, and these teeth usually fall out in the order that they came in. Since the lower, center teeth are typically the first to come in, you guessed it, they are typically the first to go! If your child started teething and growing their baby teeth early, it is likely that they will lose these teeth early as well. Children lose old and grow new teeth at varying ages! Some may even reach the age of eight without having an interaction with the tooth fairy. If you are concerned, feel free to visit your dentist for an x-ray to make sure that all the teeth are under the gum. However, there is a silver lining to getting adult teeth in later. The longer the teeth remain under the gum, the stronger and harder they become, making them more resistant to cavities.
Chances are, once a tooth is loose your child may have some fun wiggling it around, which is not only fine, but perfectly encouraged! If the tooth is extra loose and hanging on by a thread, you can take a soft tissue and try to rotate the tooth around. If the root is gone, the tooth should wiggle away from the gums freely. Do not force a tooth that is not ready to come out! This could break the root and leave the area prone to infection. Wiggling is fine, but make sure the tooth is nice and ready to come out to avoid pain and discomfort. Some teeth can take a couple months from the time the tooth becomes loose until it is ready to come out.
As you may expect, all new “adult” teeth will be clearly bigger than the previous teeth. This mix of smaller and larger teeth may look a bit funny, but it is completely normal. Remember that your child’s head will keep growing, but his teeth will not! These adult teeth have pronounced ridges because they have yet to be used. Once they have enjoyed a good amount of meals, those ridges will wear down. In addition, the new teeth will not be as white as the previous baby teeth. As more teeth come in, this difference in color will become less noticeable.
Regardless of when and how a child loses his or her first tooth, the excitement and curiosity remains the same. With luck, they may even head to bed early for their first tooth fairy interaction.
