Have you ever seen a child who has lower front teeth growing in a double row whom parents and friends label as having Shark Teeth? Well, it seems that humans and most mammals have two sets of teeth; a primary set, and then a permanent set.
Now for your National Geographic lesson – elephants, kangaroos and manatees have two sets of teeth like ours. Reptiles and fish grow hundreds and thousands of teeth, losing them daily. A snail has the most teeth with 14-20,000 in rows on their tongue. When your child complains about it taking SO LONG to brush their teeth, let them know that if they were a snail it might take an HOUR!
A shark has a double set of teeth in front of their mouth, which looks most similar to our children when they sometimes have teeth growing behind one another.
Does this happen often? More often than you might think
Is this something to worry about? No
Is this a situation to discuss with the child’s dentist? Yes
What is happening?
Our jawbones have a plan for the two sets of teeth to be directly beneath one another, so ideally when one primary tooth becomes “wiggly” and falls out, there is another coming up to take its place. If the permanent tooth is not positioned directly underneath, it can come into the mouth further back in the jawbone behind the primary tooth. Now they are one in front of the other. We see this several times a week and have a couple of thoughts for you to consider.
- Does the primary tooth become naturally loose or not? If it is not loose and remains firm as the permanent tooth comes up to equal the height of the baby tooth, then we would suggest the dentist might need to help remove it for the child. When they are equal heights, cleaning them well is a problem and we want the permanent tooth to have a chance to be in its proper position. To that point, in either case, when the primary tooth falls out or is removed, the pressure of the tongue (eating, drinking, talking) will slowly push the permanent tooth forward to its normal residence. Another key point is that I have rarely seen this occur with only one tooth. If it happens to one, it typically happens to at least two of them.
- A second situation is an “over retained” tooth: Big word meaning it should have fallen out, but for some reason (root or tissue remains attached) it now has just moved to the inside or outside of the appearing permanent tooth. Sometimes it is because a patient is reluctant to touch or remove the baby tooth, so it gets stuck. This happens most often with back primary teeth; however, can be toward the front as well.
What to do..
If you see either of these situations with your child, encourage them to wiggle on the tooth that needs to come on out. If ready, try to remove it – using clean hands and fresh gauze, tissue or a washcloth for a better grip. Sometimes a “twist” is a better motion to disengage the tooth from the gum tissue rather than a “pull”. Of course if you are concerned as to how it looks or what action to take, our doctors are more than happy to help you with an assessment for a healthy outcome.
Contact our office today!
At myKIDSdds, we are available for your questions and concerns any time you need us. Feel free to reach out, as we do not ever want you to have anxious moments when we are happy to be a solid resource of clarification and reassurance.
Healthy Smile, Healthy Child
Of course, a beautiful smile begins with a healthy smile. Our team will help your child achieve good oral hygiene through regular cleanings and one on one education. Your little one will receive an oral hygiene score and coaching each time they visit us for a cleaning, cultivating a sense of responsibility and accomplishment while also building their confidence each time they improve their score. Don’t forget, a clean mouth promotes total body health and wellness too! This is why our doctors will screen for airway issues, talk about nutrition, eating habits, and much more. We want our patients to be empowered in the knowledge we provide to them on the health of their facial complex and how it relates to their overall systemic health. We are excited to partner with you throughout your child’s pediatric dental journey into orthodontics, and beyond!
