When to expect a visit from the Tooth Fairy

It is a milestone that will make most parents cry, as they realize their little one is growing up much faster than they want.  A child losing their first tooth is a fun and exciting experience for most little ones but the truth is most parents are caught by surprise when that first tooth gets loose.  Let me cover some basics that may help parents be prepared for whats to come.  

First, when will it happen.  While every kid is different, we can give you an average age range of when those baby teeth will come out.  Below is a eruption charts are provided by the American Dental Association and cover both baby teeth eruption and shedding as well as permanent teeth eruption time averages.

 Baby Teeth Chart
Permanent Teeth Chart
Permanent Teeth Eruption Chart  
As you can see there are 20 baby teeth that must be lost to make room for 32 permanent teeth (including wisdom teeth).  All of the adult molars will come in behind the baby teeth so no baby teeth will be lost when adult molars come in- the first around age 6.

Second, let me cover a very common situation we see in the dental office.  Parents will come in saying that their child's permanent lower teeth came in behind their adult teeth.  This is common and completely normal.  As the lower permanent teeth erupt they will move forward, causing the baby teeth to come out like normal.

Lastly, what if you child is ahead of or behind these average numbers?  Either way, in most cases it is not a big deal at all.  If your child is behind the average - you will want to have an dental x-ray done, and a dentist confirm that all the permanent teeth are developing.  There are some situations where a permanent tooth does not develop at all or is erupting sideways and gets stuck.  This will cause the baby tooth to stay in place longer and you will need to formulate a plan with your child's dentist as to how to address the missing tooth as your child gets older.   

The most important thing to remember is to reassure your child that it is an exciting time and if they have to have the dentist help them wiggle out a tooth - help ease their fears and do not feed into them.  Telling them they will have to get a shot, whether it is true or not, will only start developing what could be a lifelong fear of going to the dentist.  

And parents... keep in mind that tooth fairy has to come 20 times per child!!!


 

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