Removing a Loose Baby Tooth

I always did the following with my boy's teeth:

I get the over the counter oral gel (for pain relief) maximum strength, apply it liberaly to the Q-tip, apply the gel around the tooth, keep wiggling it, look on the inside side of the tooth - it will start to get pulled off the gum - apply more oral gel to that spot. Keep doing it and you will eventualy pull the tooth out. A little messy, a little blody, but not that painful because the oragel does numb the spot.
Good luck!

I've used pliers when they needed to come out but my boys were too scared to do it themselves. But if it's been loose for a year, it needs to come out. Like the other two posts stated, wiggle, wiggle, and wiggle some more. If that doesn't work, just yank it with pliers. Turn it into a game if it scares him. Even if it doesn't come out with the first tug, it will come out and feel so much better for your son. Good luck.

Wiggling is the best option, but he has to REALLY wiggle it- like until it bleeds and hurts.

You could just yank it out. My middle boy did that with his first 2 loose teeth. He put a stuffed animal in his mouth, bit down and yanked. He did this himself in his bedroom when he was supposed to be sleeping.

You can also run some dental floss around the base of the tooth a couple of times a day to loosen the gums.

I've never heard of a tooth being loose for that long. Have his other teeth stayed loose that long? Normally I think it's more like a month or less between the time a loose tooth is wiggleable and time time it falls out. I'd less worried about how to get it out than about why it's been loose for a year. Baby teeth are supposed to get loose because the permanent tooth is pushing in from behind. If the big tooth hasn't come through after a year, I'd be concerned that it is loose for some other reason (like maybe it's an injured tooth). It sucks that you can't get him to a dentist.

Sometimes dentist offices offer a "new patient special" and will do the initial exam (no cleaning or anything, just an exam to tell you what expensive things you need done) for free or for like $1 or something crazy. It'd be worth taking him in to have it looked at.

I read the other posts but I am wondering, if you don't have insurance is there some state funded program your son would fall under? I also live in IL and found this on a quick search: http://chicago.healthcareforyou.org/default.aspx?P=Search... (I realize this is for "Chicago" but you could enter your own zip code at the top too.)

Also, you could consider calling your family dentist, explaining the situation and seeing if they could provide services pro bono or at a significant savings.

I think many providers care for their patients and understand a temporary loss of benefits. If they are good, they realize that they may keep you as patients in the future once you have new insurance too.

Have him not only wiggle it, but twist it if he can. My hubby gripped O. of my son's teeth with a tissue and just yanked & it came out but it was pretty loose...

I haven't ready your other posts, so don't know if this has been suggested yet. Have him put Baby Orajel on it to numb it, then pull. My son is ten and had a tooth that was starting to disintegrate (sp?) because it was in so long, but he was afraid to really pull it. Our dentist gave us this suggestion and it worked like a charm-- it was out that night.

OMG when I was young, I used to take my own wiggly teeth out. I was obsessed with it. I used to 'help' my little brothers too, HAHA! My 6 year old has already lost 5 teeth... with my help. A lot of times wiggling makes this air pocket between the tooth cavity and the gums, kind of like a suction, so it seems like it's in there better than it really is. Grab a piece of tissue for grip, and pop that sucker out! Stick a plain old tea bag in the gap to stop the bleeding, if there is any. He will feel soooo much better once all is said and done! Good luck! YAY tooth fairy! :)

My five year old daughter had the adult tooth nearly all the way in behind her baby tooth and we did the following: We made a slipknot with dental floss, so that pulling the very long end would tighten it, got it snugly around the tooth, tied the other end to a doorknob. She had a bandanna for a blindfold and she slammed the door. Tooth went flying and she didn't even feel it go. It was hysterically funny and highly effective and the only sad thing is that we didn't video it. She got to pick a toy at the toystore but ice cream sundaes would also be a good choice.

Go for it!