I’m almost 15 years old and still have one baby tooth. The adult tooth is coming in and sort of pushing up behind it. Do I need to remove the baby tooth or will it come out on its own? If not, do I need to pull it? Will it hurt?
Katie
Dear Katie,
If the baby tooth won’t come out by itself, and it sounds like it is struggling with that, then you will need to have it removed. If you do not, then the adult tooth will come in crooked. It that happens, then you’ll need some orthodontics in order to straighten out your bite.
I’m wondering why your pediatric dentist has not taken steps to deal with this already. A good pediatric dentist would not allow the baby tooth to be deflected by the adult tooth.
We’re past that now, though. In this case, your baby tooth will need to be extracted. The good news is that a baby tooth does not have roots as deep and strong as adult teeth. That means it will be an easy extraction. You should be fine with a local anesthetic. However, if you are nervous about it, I recommend seeing a sedation dentist in order to have this removed.
A sedation dentist can provide you with a medication which will completely relax you and allow your numbing medication to be completely effective.
You are old enough to no longer need a children’s dentist, so I would start by looking for a dentist who can give you the sedation that you need and go from there. There are many general dentists, like Dr. Dennis, who treat children. You’re a teenager and will be fine even if they don’t.
If it turns out that you do need orthodontics, I want you to be aware that there is a procedure known as Invisalign that will allow you to straighten your teeth without anyone even knowing. They use clear aligners instead of metal wires and brackets.
This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.