What Is Your Advice

None of us can see the xrays or any damage (or lack of it) up in the gums. What you do when you are not sure is that you go get a 2nd opinion. Take the xrays with you (either the films or the images on a disk) so you don't have to pay for a second set. You can ask your dentist for a referral to another dentist for a 2nd opinion (no good dentist or doctor will oppose you seeing another specialist), or you can ask your pediatrician for a name of a pediatric dentist.

Do you trust your dentist or not?

If you're not sure, get a 2nd opinion.

He's 5, they are baby teeth so it's not like he knocked out permanent teeth.

I'm not a Dr. but if I questioned my Dr's advice, I'd seek another opinion of a Dr a fully trust.

Around 5 or 6 yrs old is when the baby teeth typically start falling out.
Do you know how a baby tooth gets loose?
As an adult tooth develops below the baby tooth - it dissolves the roots of the baby tooth - and with no roots - the baby tooth wiggles and eventually falls out.
I understand he knocked those teeth and they might be a little loose on the early side but they are going to come out soon anyway - you might as well have them out now.
Have the dentist save them for the Tooth Fairy.
If you don't trust your dentist then get a second opinion.

trust the dentist or get a second opinion

Thank all of you for your advice I now have a second opinion that i trust and am moving forward.

I usually go with what the expert suggests - and in rare circumstances, I've gotten a second opinion.

I might get one here - but only after I'd asked everything of the first dentist. I grill them sometimes - not because i don't trust them, but because I'm not the expert and I don't always understand why there's the need to do this and that at first.

I would ask - what happens if we don't pull them out? Why is it the best thing to do? Etc. Maybe you have - you haven't included what they responded here, so hard to say.

Are they dangling there or are they just loose?

Our kids' dentist has offered to pull out baby teeth that were taking forever to fall out and were sort of hanging in there, wedged between teeth. It didn't take long and the kids were fine. That's my only experience with this kind of thing.

I would go to a pediatric dentist that is a specialist in baby teeth and growing in adult teeth the correct way. Then I'd go with what they suggested. If they want to pull them so what? They should be coming out pretty soon anyway. By this age my daughter had lost eye tooth to eye tooth on top and on bottom.