Permanent Teeth Coming In Behind Baby Teeth

Permanent teeth coming in behind baby teeth are not an emergency!

Many parents become alarmed when they look in their child’s mouth and see the permanent teeth growing behind the baby teeth.

Ordinarily, as the permanent teeth push up, the roots of the baby teeth dissolve and the baby tooth eventually falls out, allowing the permanent teeth to come in.  Sometimes, the baby teeth don’t want to leave the mouth, and the permanent teeth come in right behind them.

Do not panic, encourage your child to work on wiggle the tooth out, you will need to check on how loose the baby tooth is. If the tooth is only little bit loose or not loose at all consult your dentist to determine if the tooth will need to be extract.

This may wait until your next 6 month check-up, if you become too concerned then please call and make an appointment with your dentist to determine your treatment plan.

After the baby tooth is out, your child’s tongue will naturally push the permanent tooth forward to the correct position.

In some children who have moderate to severe crowding, may not have room for the permanent tooth even with the baby tooth out, in this case an orthodontic consultation would be appropriate.