Is it common to have baby teeth pulled?

[Anonymous]

DS' baby teeth came in late, so it was no surprise that his adult teeth are also late. His bottom front adult teeth came in behind the baby teeth, and the dentist suggested they pull the baby teeth so that they didn't displace the adult teeth. Ok, that made sense. After they were extracted, the baby teeth still had half their root attached where they should have dissolved but didn't. We just had panoramic x rays done for DS, and the top front adult teeth look similar - the baby tooth roots are still present even though the adult teeth are almost ready to break through. The dentist wants to pull those, too.

I don't ever remember hearing about kids having their baby teeth pulled and I'm wondering if this office is just very enthusiastic. It's a very short procedure since they're baby teeth, but they charge a whole lot (luckily DS is on our dental now). I guess I'm just really cynical because it seems like easy money. Is this common?

[Anonymous]

Well, no, but then it's not normal for baby teeth to linger after the adult teeth come in.

[Anonymous]

Daughter of a dentist here. Yes, this is common treatment for your situation. While this situation does occur with enough kids for the dentist to not be surprised - most kids don't experience this problem. Not pulling the baby teeth can cause more (expensive) problems down the road.

If you think it's pricey, you can call around for other prices or get a 2nd opinion.

[Anonymous]

Both my kids had baby teeth pulled but for different reasons than yours. My 12 year old had an impacted adult canine that was positioned to come through the top of her mouth. The baby canine wasn’t budging because there was no adult tooth coming straight down to push it out via a normal process of losing teeth. Once the baby canine was pulled, the impacted adult tooth moved correctly into place (she has braces so there were other forces/issues at play too).

My 10 year old had an infected baby tooth so out it came.

[Anonymous]

Not uncommon. It is the adult tooth underneath the baby tooth that causes the baby tooth roots to dissolve. If they aren't lined up and the adult tooth comes in behind, that baby tooth isn't going to fall out on its own. I had 2 teeth pulled when I was 8 because the adult teeth came in behind, and one of my kids had 1 pulled.

[Anonymous]

My dd had to have one pulled recently and we found several “happened to me too” stories from current kids and now-grownups to assuage her worries

[Anonymous]

I had a front baby tooth pulled that would not come out on it’s own. I‘m not sure why they are charging so much, but it’s not uncommon.

[Anonymous]

My sister had a ton of baby teeth pulled. They just never seemed to come out on their own.

We almost had to have one pulled for my son, but he didn't want to miss camp for the dentist appointment and pulled it himself.

[Anonymous]

OP, thanks for the replies and assurances. You hear a lot of drama about orthodontists who push unnecessary work, so I was wondering if maybe pulling baby teeth was a similar situation. I guess the biggest issue now is making sure DS doesn't develop a complex about going to the dentist.

[Anonymous]

Its not the norm but its not at all uncommon either. I had to have baby teeth pulled, it wasn't framed as rare or anything like that

[Anonymous]

Shark teeth is what it's called when adult teeth come in before baby teeth fall out. My kids experienced this, but the baby tooth eventually came out. Pediatric dentists will be more likely to recommend pulling the baby tooth, while family dentists are more of a "wait and see" approach.

[Anonymous]

It’s not abnormal.

Happens all the time.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know- I remember having a baby tooth pulled for this reason!

My DH is a dentist- and this has happened to my kids (adult tooth coming in but the baby tooth is still there). He was never concerned and said the baby tooth would eventually come out- and it did, every single time.

You could always get a 2nd opinion!

[Anonymous]

DC's adult teeth were trying to push through mostly under but a bit behind the loose baby tooth. We were told to wait because they were sure the baby tooth would eventually fall out. What they didn't tell us is that if it didn't, the new tooth could come in with a cavity, which it did, and the cavity was so bad before the baby tooth fell out that he needed a root canal on a "brand new" tooth.

[Anonymous]

"Shark teeth" where the adult teeth come up behind the baby tooth is very common and very rarely requires the baby teeth to be pulled. My daughter has had this six times and every time, the baby tooth has come out on its own, once with a fully grown adult tooth behind it. And also every time, the adult tooth has pushed forward into the correct position within a couple weeks.