Adult Teeth Coming in Behind Baby Teeth

At this age, children will often begin to wiggle the loose tooth with their tongue or a finger until it falls out, soon to be replaced with the permanent adult tooth.

However, sometimes adult teeth come through before the baby teeth fall out, and the connection between the baby tooth root and the gum doesn’t break at the correct time.

You may hear this condition referred to as “shark teeth” because children will have two rows of teeth. The problem is quite common and is easily treatable.

What to Do If Your Child’s Adult Teeth Are Coming in behind Their Baby Teeth?

If your child’s adult teeth are coming in when their baby teeth are still present, there are several solutions. Ideally, if a baby tooth is loose, you can encourage your child to try to wiggle it and to gradually break the bond between the tooth root and the gum, so it falls out naturally.

If the baby teeth aren’t loose, it’s best to make an appointment to see Dr. Tracy or Dr. Igor. Our pediatric dentists can examine your child’s teeth and can gently extract the baby teeth.

One thing to bear in mind is that if your child’s upper front teeth or the lower front teeth have adult teeth growing in behind them, the opposing teeth will most likely do the same. It’s very common for pairs of teeth to act similarly. When this is the case, we may suggest waiting until both sets of permanent teeth have come through so we can remove all remaining baby teeth during a single visit, which will be more comfortable for your child.

Adult teeth can come in behind baby teeth at any time during your child’s development, but there are two common phases when it is more likely to occur. The first is when they get their lower front teeth around age 6, while the second phase is when their upper back molars begin to erupt around age 11.

What Happens If My Child Doesn’t Have Their Baby Teeth Extracted?

If your child’s baby teeth remain in place and they don’t loosen and are not removed in our kids dental office, it could affect the permanent teeth growing in behind them. These teeth may start to move out of position, potentially causing orthodontic problems in the future.

Sometimes a child’s permanent teeth don’t develop correctly, and in this case, we may leave their baby teeth in place as a substitute for missing permanent teeth for as long as they remain healthy. We can detect any problems with congenitally missing teeth when we take dental x-rays of your child’s jaws, which will show us teeth that are developing in the jawbone but which are yet to erupt.

Pediatric Dentistry Center
2148 Ocean Ave, Ste 401A
Brooklyn, NY 11229
☎ 718-339-1810