Permanent Teeth Growing Behind Baby Teeth

Updated on October 17, 2009
D.P. asks from Boston, MA
13 answers

Hello All,

My son will be 5 in December and when my husband brought him to the dentist a few months ago for a cleaning, the hygenist noticed that he had one tooth growing behind his bottom front teeth. Well, he now has 2 teeth that have come in behind those bottom front teeth and the baby teeth aren't even loose yet. I was just curious if any of you have been through this and if so what happenend. I have an appointment today for a cleaning so I am bringing my son with me so that they can tak a look but as much as I love our hygenist, we never see the dentist. He doesn't even come in for a quick check after the cleaning so I don't even know if my son will be seen by the dentist today. Yes, I will be switching dentists but just haven't gotten around to it.

Anyway, I read online today that it is recommended that the baby teeth get pulled so that the permanent can move into place but I have heard so many dental horror stories that I really don't want to put my son through getting his teeth pulled. At the same though if this going to be a bigger problem later on, I would rather take care of it soon.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

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S.G.

answers from Boston on

DON'T WORRY! And don't pull the baby ones out. The same thing happened to my son when he was 5. I was shocked when I first looked and saw them coming in behind his front bottom teeth. It looked like they were coming in under his tongue. His baby teeth in front were not even loose. Believe it or not...they will get loose in time and fall out and the other ones will come into place. Don't pull the baby teeth.
Good Luck,
S.

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M.M.

answers from Boston on

Hello!
My little man's (now 8) permanent have all come in behind his baby teeth...however they were loose...and yes, I called my our dentist who said this was common enough...But I would double check with you dentist since your little one's aren't loose. And insist on seeing your dentist...you (or your insurance) are paying for it as part of your cleaning and dental exam(by a dentist).
Good luck

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A.M.

answers from Boston on

My daughter is now 6 and a half, and she had the same thing happen with her first adult teeth. Also, 2 appearing behind the bottom front teeth. At first, I thought it was the strangest thing! In my experience, this is nothing to worry about. The baby teeth will get loose and fall out, and the big teeth will grow in fine naturally. She has since lost 5 teeth, and has 5 adult teeth growing in (pretty nicely so far).

There is no need to pull the baby teeth out. At the time, I called her dentist, and was told that this is pretty common. My mom also seems to remember this happening with me when I was little. Try not to worry!

Also, my daughter goes to a pediatric dentist who has seen her every time we've visited. Maybe it's time to find a new dentist for your son?

Hope this helps!
A.

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M.F.

answers from Hartford on

Just like many of the others my son also had the same problem. The permanent teeth were coming in while the baby teeth were still standing strong. I contacted the dentist thinking that he would need to have them pulled. The dentist told me that the permanent teeth would push out the baby teeth. The baby teeth soon got loose and came out. His permanent teeth settled into the space and no one would be the wiser now.

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K.A.

answers from Boston on

Have your son work on those teeth to get them loose himself-tell him about the tooth fairy etc.My daughters teeth did the same thing and the dentist said the same about pulling them.......I did not want that so she worked on them and got them out within 2months-I do not think it is as urgent as they say-they moved in fine.In the long run she will need braces but I did'nt think the experience of having them pulled was necessary.

E.T.

answers from Boston on

Hi D., Yes, I have heard of this happening a couple of times - in one case, they surfaced and then disappeared and came in routinely once the baby teeth fell on at the appropriate age. In the other situation, the baby teeth did have to be pulled to keep the new teeth from coming in crooked. I strongly urge you to have a consultation with Dr. John Herzog in Danvers. He is GREAT!!! He has a 2-year-old himself and is wonderful with children. His office is high-tech, so children (and adults) can watch TV/videos while being worked on - the TV is right there in front of them. He is so good about giving 2nd opinions without pushing you to become his patient; however, once you meet him, you will probably want to! He is kind, witty and incredibly knowledgable and was recently the president of the MA Dental Organization. To know him is to love him! You can contact him at ###-###-####, and he is located at 49R Maple St in Danvers (right on the main street in town). I wish you the best with this issue. Take care. E. Taft P.S. Please tell him I sent you!

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S.S.

answers from Boston on

Our 13 y.o. son had the same thing years ago. We were sent to an orthodontist who said to wait 6 months. If they weren't out by then naturally, he suggested pulling them. It turns out one fell out on it's own. The other one was pulled. It really wasn't all that traumatic. He was asleep for the pulling.

The reason for pulling was to give enough room for the permanent teeth to properly get into position. I thought that would never happen but the tongue is an amazing thing. Through time, it pushed the teeth into place, just with normal mouth action, and they are fine and straight now.

The same thing is happening on two of our son's upper teeth now. He has many friends who have been in braces for a couple of years yet he is still getting more new teeth. Our dentist says he is about 2-3 years behind the norm for teeth coming out. Mouths are strange little things!

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B.K.

answers from Boston on

This also happen to my daughter when she was 7years old. The 2 adult teeth grew in and up, right behind her non wiggly baby teeth. Look like a shark! Our ped. Dentist removed the 4 baby teeth in front to make room. My daughter was sad when she saw herself in the mirror the first day. The bloody redness was aweful...but only for the day and a half. She was sad that her smile was no longer pretty. She had "perfect" baby teeth. The Orthodontist, yes Orthodontist, said children with "perfect" teeth, all lined up beautifully, almost always need braces because there was no room for growth in the firt place. But, at 9 years old, a pallet expander and braces, her first grown up teeth are straight. we're just waiting now for the molers to fall out. But their not wiggling yet either.
And yes, most definately get a new dentist. Our's always comes to look even after a cleaning.
I hope I've assured you that your son is not alone in this.

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T.D.

answers from Boston on

Hi...The same thing happened to my daughter when she was around 6...We didn't do anything. They eventually became loose and fell out and the big teeth were right there in place. We have a really good dentist and he said that it was fine. He wouldn't have pulled them. Good Luck!

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D.B.

answers from Boston on

Well my 8 yr old had that happen to him too...and I took him to the dentist and they pulled the baby teeth out and it wasn't a big deal for him. He goes to a kids' dentist, they gave him some nitrous gas so it wasn't a big deal for him, and his permanent teeth came in the proper place once the baby teeth were out of the way and there are no issues at all. Hope that helps. I see that the other responses said their kids' teeth became loose eventually but my son's didn't become loose and his big teeth were almost completely in. But do call your dentist and check it out. D.

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A.H.

answers from Boston on

All of my daughters teeth have come in this way. I have found that there is a difference amoung dentist's opinion. Our dentists says that he will wait and see if the tooth falls out on its own in 6 months. If not, he will "help wiggle it out". So far, every tooth (4 so far) have fallen out on there own. My daughter just lost one in fact. Even though it was not loose at all when the permenant tooth was fully in. We lovingly call it "shark teeth". When the baby teeth fall out, the permemnt teeth move into place in a few months. My daughter does have a lot of space in her mouth, which might make a difference. We are friends with a family that has this same situation, a girl the same age as my daughter, and she just went through oral surgery with general anethesia.

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A.P.

answers from Boston on

I have the same exact thing going on right now with my 6 year old. She has 4 teeth like this, and has had 2 others in the past. I asked her dentist twice (to make sure!) and he said just leave them alone, and have her wiggle them. Her baby teeth have been slightly loose for months now but haven't come out and she refuses to wiggle them because she's scared to. Sometimes I just want to yank them out of there and get it over with! I tell her she has shark teeth, like a couple others on here have mentioned. LOL

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L.B.

answers from Boston on

My daughter was older than your son, I think she was 10, but she is VERY phobic of medical and dental procedures. She was getting braces on her teeth and the orthodontist recommended pulling the baby tooth. The dentist used nitrous gas for her. Pulling isn't exactly how I would describe what happened. He used a little tool that kind of lifted the tooth out. It was simple, non-evasive and painless. My daughter didn't even have time to get worked up! It took longer to drape her than to "pull" the tooth.

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