Tag Archives: children's dentist

Pediatric Dentistry

Baby Teeth Didn’t Come Out

Can you help me? I am 16 years old and most of my adult teeth have come in behind my baby teeth. This makes me look hideous. Is there any way to fix this? I’m tired of everyone’s comments and want to be able to smile without feeling like a freak.

Tara

Dear Tara,

teenager smiling with braces

I am sorry this happened to you. I’m a little frustrated on your behalf that your pediatric dentist never took care of this. Maybe you haven’t gotten to go to a dentist? That’s the only legitimate reason I can think of for this type of neglect on the part of a dentist. The good news is that this can be fixed.

First, if you have all your permanent teeth, the baby teeth will need to be removed. Don’t try to do this yourself. It needs to be done by a dentist. Then, the adult teeth can be moved into their proper place with orthodontics.

Whenever an adult tooth is erupting and the baby tooth is still in place, it is always best to remove the baby tooth as quickly as possible. This way you can minimize any misalignment. It doesn’t guarantee the teeth will come in properly aligned but does greatly increase the chances.

Sometimes a baby tooth doesn’t come out because of congenitally missing teeth, which simply means the adult teeth didn’t form and all you have is the baby tooth. In that case, you try to keep the baby tooth as healthy as possible and then, when all your teeth have erupted, you can have the baby tooth removed, open up the space for a replacement tooth and you are ready for a prosthetic tooth.

I hope this helps. You can get the smile you want.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Hillary Peck, an affordable Scottsdale Dentist.

Pediatric Dentistry

Five Years Old’s Teeth Rotting

I need some advice, My five year old daughter has some problems with her molars. Two of them have small cavities and two of them have lost about 30% of their structure. I want some advice of what to do about this before I take her to a pediatric dentist. Will they have to be removed? She’s awful young to have to lose teeth. She is saying that it hurts when she chews so I know I need to bring her in.

Laurie

Dear Laurie,

young boy smiling with toothbrush

I love that you are trying to figure out the best thing for your daughter. At her age, all of her teeth are all baby teeth and she needs them for many years to come. It is important you get her to see a pediatric dentist as soon as possible. This is especially true for her back teeth. They need to stay in her mouth until she is about twelve years old.

The molars with the small cavities will definitely be able to be saved. The ones where you estimate there is 30% loss of structure, I hope can be saved with a dental crown.

If they cannot be saved, it will be imperative that your dentist place a space maintainer there. If the molars are just removed, the remainder of her teeth will drift into that open space. then, when her twelve year old molars try to come in, there will not be enough space. This will lead to crowding and expensive orthodontics.

The extent of her decay is a little unusual for her age. It may be time for a bit of tough love on your part. She can brush her teeth twice a day just like she is supposed to, but if she is a frequent snacker it will sabotage her oral health. This is because one of the biggest proponents of oral health is our saliva, which contains bacteria fighting minerals. If she is a frequent snacker or drinks a lot of juice, does not give her salvia enough time to do its job.

I would limit her to one or two snacks a day and make sure she is not drinking a lot of juice or sodas.

One other thing. I know you are trying to get all your ducks in a row before seeing the pediatric dentist, which is admirable, but don’t put it off. These cavities can easily turn into a tooth infection, which will be a dental emergency.

This blog is brought to you Phoenix Dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.
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