4 Yr Old Has to Have 2 Front Teeth Removed

My daughters both lost their front teeth at about age 5 1/2 to 6 and they got the permanent teeth came in for one a few months later, the other one was without her teeth for about a year. My girls already had a speech issue but it didn't make it worse, some words were a little more diffucult like the ...sh sound and ....th words. I am wondering if it is absolutley necessary that they be removed and that they wouldn't tighten back up as the gums heal. If you know any other dentists a second opinion might not be a bad idea. I had a baby tooth removed 9a molar) and the other teeth all moved in not allowing the permanent tooth to have enough room. This issue followed me into adulthood and tooth finally did come in wrong. Don't think that kind of thing will happen here but never know the longer term issues. Good luck with this. K.

Kids lose their front teeth all the time at 4, 5, or 6 years old and do without them until their adult teeth come in. My grand daughter lost hers nearly 6 months ago and has finally started getting her adult teeth. It's a natural progression and they just adapt. Sorry her have to be pulled but if they are damaged that bad then they need to come out.

If you have concerns that the dentist isn't right then make an appointment with a Pediatric dentist. They are specialist in baby teeth and children's teeth. A regular family dentist isn't a specialist. A pediatric dentist will put kids to sleep in a hospital and do they removal or dental work and the kids are so much better with not having the trauma of being awake through the shots in the mouth, the whole feeling the teeth being ripped out, etc....

My niece had the same thing happen to her. My sis got a partial for her . Thank God, she didn't her teeth unitl she was 6. I twas exspensive but worth it. No one new unless she showed them. So if your insurance will pay for it I would do this.
Hope this helps,

My daughter's front teeth were knocked out by a wooden swing at 4 yrs old. No front teeth for a while. At 7, she now has a mouth full of teeth and no speech problems. It's kind of scary but a few years from now it will simply be a way to measure time in your family photo albums. Once kindergarten starts, he'll be thrilled because he's already lost teeth when many other's haven't. The tooth fairy also won't be caught off guard for her first visit to your house. It is what it is and try to make the best of it. Good luck to you!!

D., I'm so sorry. That's certainly traumatic for you and your son.

You can get a type of retainer that has front teeth that are kept in place with wires that fit over a tooth on each side. This is what I did for my son. At 3 1/'2 years old he had to have his front baby teeth removed because of an extra tooth that had to come down, and then pulled. He was in first grade before the permanents started coming down. Yes, it affected his speech, but the fake teeth helped. The fake teeth also kept the other teeth from moving around. Today, at 15 years old, he isn't going to have to have braces. We saved ourselves a lot of money by getting these little fake teeth put in. (Also, eating was a lot easier for him for several years.)

Go ahead and talk to your dentist about this appliance. I don't think you'll be sorry.

All my best,
D.

I would be cautious about pulling those baby teeth. Did the dentist say WHY they had to be pulled? It's my understanding that one can't always tell if the roots and nerves were damaged until the healing begins. Some things to think about...1) One of my friends' son knocked his front tooth totally OUT, put it in a glass of milk, ran to the dentist and the stuck it back in hoping for the best. It was fine.
2) My neice, 15 mos, fell into the bottom of a slide at the park, of course face first and jammed her brand new 4 front baby teeth back up into her gums :( The dentist told her mom to wait it out. The teeth came back down and they are fine. Just two examples of good news. If it were me, I would wait. If the nerves/roots were damaged they teeth will turn brown and "die" and need to be removed, but if you remove them now you will never know if it was the right thing to do. They could be just fine. Another story...my younger sister, at 2, fell face first while running in the yard. She knocked both top front teeth out. We never found them. I don't know what ill effects it might have had. She did need braces later on, but 2 of my 3 girls needed braces and they never knocked out any teeth. Again, ask the dentist WHY? If he doesn't have a really good reason other than just because...(I want your money) I would leave them in til there is an obvious reason.

My friend's son knocked his two front teeth out when he was 2, and he's still without them. He talks just fine. You have to remember how adaptable kids are. I wanted to say one more thing though. My daughter has had to have 4 teeth pulled because of permanent ones growing up behind. Make sure you ask your dentist how they go about the procedure. Because at my daughter's appointment they numbed her and then ended up having to literally have 3 people hold her down while they pulled them out because she was completely freaking out. It was completely traumatic for her. After talking to some friends, I found out that performing that procedure that way on a child is completely unacceptable and normally not done. So, I switched dentists, and before I chose him, I asked him how they pull teeth out on young children who are extremely afraid and he informed me that they NEVER allow the children to get too uncomfortable. If they show anxiety at all, they give them a drink of stuff that basically is like nitris, and they walk away not remembering it. He actually was a little astonished at what my daughter had been put through. He was very professional about it, but explained that they would never do that there because they want kids to enjoy their experience at the dentist. So, just ask to make sure because my daughter was pretty afraid the first time she went to the dentist after her incident.

D. - my daughter fell and snapped her two front teeth above the gum line last hallowe'en - she had just turned 4. It was very traumatic (Saturday night) and she had them both pulled on the Monday morning ($500). She was fine by Wednesday (she was probably OK before that, but maybe I wasn't ready). I have been assured that her speech will be OK (and it is) and that there shouldn't be ay problems with her new teeth coming in - when they are ready. She has adjusted teh way she eats some things, using the side of her mouth and she still eats corn on the cob. She likes to stick her tongue out thru the gap. She is not traumatized, she doesn't feel like the odd one out and her speech is fine. There appear to be no adverse affects whatsoever, and she still looks adorable. If his teeth are only loose, there is a chance that they could recover - but that really is your dentists call, he is the expert.

Hang in there.

My daughter had a similar situation.
She has zero speach problems. I think she was about 7 when her adult teeth came in. They usually lose them naturally between 5 and 7 and that's when they come in whether the other ones are lost or not.
One of my favorite pictures is of my daughter with a huge grin and her teeth missing at 5. She ate every thing in the world on top of it. It didn't slow her down at all.
I know you are frightened because of the trauma of it, but your kid will be okay. Like I said, my daughter's teeth came in fine and healthy and she had no speach issues. No lisp or anything. God bless her, she tried making a whistling sound through her teeth but never did get that figured out. But she was fine. Still is. Absolutely beautiful with lovely healthy teeth.

Try not to worry.

Best wishes.

I don't have any personal experience with this, but a boy at my daughter's daycare was about 4 years old when he fell & knocked one of his teeth out. Dentist couldn't put it back in. They had the option of paying a lot of $$$ to have an implant or something put in, but he wouldn't get his adult tooth until a few years later.

My son had his front teeth pulled at 3 yrs and they are still not in and he is 6. He talks perfectly fine. He has never been made fun of he actually gets wow your lucky I want to lose my teeth lol. And I cannot believe some of these people bought flippers or whatever they are called kids lose teeth hello!

my daughter had 2 seperate teeth traumas: first when she was about 18 months she was getting off my mom's lap and fell into the coffee table, both fron teeth got pushed back up (almost as if she had never gotten them in the first place) I took her to the dentist and he said that they would either come down and be fine or they would die and turn black and need to be pulled, they came down and were fine until she fell off her tricycle at 4 this knocked out one of her front teeth, I took her back to the dentist and he said that putting it back in wasn't an option and that there didn't seem to be any damage done to the underlying tissue, he didn't give an option for a partial and I wouldn't have done it either, I thought she was cute to be toothless so young (had to find a bright spot somewhere) she lost her other front tooth naturally before the first one came in, when that happened the only think she had issues eating was corn on the cob, but now she is fine no speech issues or anything (except being accident prone).....relax I know how traumatic it is for you but it is also more common than you realize, when it happened to my daughter suddenly I heard about every other kid that had something similar happen and didn't hear any horror stories about long lasting effects

Same thing happened to my child and didn't want him to go kindergarten and get teased. I got him a flipper (sorta like a retainer but it has teeth - you see them on toddlers and tiara's on TLC). My doctor took an impression of his mouth and you cannot even tell the difference, except for the tiny bit of a lisp when he says his H's.

I just had my front tooth knocked out and since it is a front tooth they had to have an implant done (I am 38). I didn't want to go without a front tooth for 6-8 months so I chose to have a flipper. It costs $500 out of pocket for an adult since they deemed it cosmetic. Your dental insurance may cover it since he is so young like mine did. I barely lisp and again it is only with my H's. Hope this helps!

I have known two children who this happened to. Both turned out fine! I'm sorry to hear of your son's accident. It's so hard to see our babies get hurt!

Our son fell coming up the stairway and injured his lower front teeth. They were loose but the dentist told us they would tighten up in time. They did and we thought no more of the situation. Almost a year later he had what looked like a bug bite. It was a cyst that had formed from infection at the root of the tooth. He was hospitalized and the cyst was surgically removed.

My daughters front teeth came in and she just turned 5. There might be some hope for him getting them sooner!!!

My niece had to have al 4 front teeth removed at 4 yrs due to decay. She adjusted her speech for the lost teeth and does not sound horrible and is easy to understand. There is a chance his new teeth will not grow back until he is 7 but could be earlier. One of my girls lost her first tooth before her 5th bday and I thought it was way too soon but everyone is different.