My little girl who’s turning 8 this year has not dropped a single milk tooth to-date. She does have a good set of teeth. Should I be concerned? Ellie’s Mom.
Hi Ellie’s Mom,
Children have 20 baby teeth, which typically erupt by the age of three. They generally fall out in the same order in which they came through, so your daughter can expect to lose her lower front teeth first, followed by her upper front teeth and so on. Baby teeth don’t become loose until the adult tooth underneath is ready to erupt, pushing up the baby tooth, loosening it in the process.
The age at which these adult teeth emerge can vary immensely as some children will begin to lose their baby teeth as early as four, while other children can reach the age of eight without having lost a single tooth. By the time they reach twelve or thirteen most children have lost all their milk teeth and have all of their adult teeth except the wisdom teeth. If your daughter was quite late to get all her milk teeth then it’s more likely that her adult teeth will be a little later to appear. If you or her father were late to get your adult teeth then it is quite likely Ellie will be too.
It is more than likely that nothing is wrong and your daughter will start to lose her milk teeth very soon, but if you are concerned then you could ask your dentist to take some x-rays to assess the situation and to make sure all the adult teeth are present. Some dentists think it may even be more advantageous to get adult teeth a little later as the adult teeth will have remained in the jaw for longer, and will be harder and more resistant to cavities. As long as Ellie is having regular checkups I wouldn’t be too worried, as your dentist will be quick to see if anything is amiss.
regards,
Jonathan penchas
