“I was brushing my six-year-old’s teeth today and noticed a small tooth popping through just behind the baby tooth! Do I pull the one in front of it out? Do I come in and have it pulled? What do I do!?“
Our kids dental office in Camelback gets calls like this from worried parents all the time. It’s okay! We love helping concerned parents. It’s our job. Especially when it comes to situations like these. This is a fairly common occurrence for kids that most people know as “shark teeth.”
What are “Shark Teeth”, and what do parents need to know?
This dental term derives from sharks having between 5 and 15 rows of teeth in each jaw. Any experienced pediatric dentist in Camelback has undoubtedly seen this condition before. These teeth have no roots and are replaced every week or so. Shark teeth is a condition that occurs in children when adult teeth develop behind their baby teeth. If you see this, make sure to visit a kids dental office in Camelback so you can get treatment started.
The result is a double row of teeth. Your pediatric dentist in Camelback knows that this occurs when there is either a failure of the adult tooth eruption or a baby tooth issue. The result is what the dental world refers to as “Shark Teeth.”
Where are “Shark Teeth” found?
Camelback pediatric dentists usually find lower front teeth, but they can also appear in the upper molars. When it happens in the upper back. Your pediatric dental specialist in Camelback can usually find these around age 6, but they may not appear until age 11 or 12.
Shark teeth do not always need to be treated because the primary teeth sometimes come out on their own. However, sometimes they disrupt the way the teeth come in and must be treated orthodontically.
3 Questions About Shark Teeth
- Is it time for my child to lose their baby teeth? (Typically ages 5-7 when the first permanent teeth begin to appear and again around age 12 as the second set of molars make their appearance)
- Are your child’s baby teeth loose?
- Does the appearance of these teeth bother me more than my child?
If you answered yes to all three questions, you’re probably in the clear! That adult tooth will do exactly what’s it’s supposed to, dissolving the baby tooth’s root, pushing out the baby tooth.
So what are the next steps? Well … wiggle those baby teeth and keep brushing!
Regular Check-ups
It is important to maintain regular checkups with a Camelback pediatric dentist. This allows your child to have ongoing eruption pattern assessments so that the dentist can recommend extraction if necessary. Remember, baby teeth are the placeholders for adult teeth, so only a dentist can recommend what to do. Early space loss can cause future orthodontic issues.
At The Kids’ Dental Office of Phoenix & Orthodontics, a top pediatric dentist in Camelback, we strive to give families and children the preventive care needed to prevent painful and damaging conditions. We also aim to give every family access to quality dental care for their kids, which is why we are an AHCCCS kids dentist in Phoenix.
Call us at (602) 903-4894 or visit our website to fill out a form and book an appointment today!
