Why Extract Baby Teeth?

Posted by writeradmin

My seven year old daughter has a molar that has cracked a bit because of decay. My dentist is pretty much insisting that we extract AND replace it. I’m a bit miffed about that because it’s just a baby tooth.  I don’t see the point.  It’s going to fall out anyway. As for replacing it, that’s ridiculous. An adult tooth will come in. We’re not made of money.

Janice

Dear Janice,

I can tell you are frustrated and the added financial stress doesn’t help either. While you are correct that in most cases, baby teeth are just going to fall out so you don’t have to worry about minor decay. There are a couple of things which make this a bit different, including what I hope is a misunderstanding of something your dentist suggested. .

First, this doesn’t sound like minor decay. In your daughter’s case, the decay is extensive enough to have severely damaged it. A cracked tooth is usually at the root, but possibly you are meaning the crown of her tooth is cracked. Either way with that much decay the tooth is at risk of turning into a tooth infection. Those are serious and have to be treated. Unfortunately, a root canal treatment rarely works on a baby tooth, so an extraction is usually the recommendation.

The second issue is that this is a molar. While most baby teeth can fall out and just wait for the adult tooth, back teeth need to stay in place until your daughter is about twelve years of age because her molars won’t come in until around then. Otherwise, the adjacent teeth will tip or shift into the empty spaces. This leads to overcrowding and means she’ll need braces when she gets older. That is an expense you’ll want to avoid if you can.

I don’t think your pediatric dentist meant for you to replace the tooth. He was probably referring to a space maintainer. This just holds the area open so the other teeth don’t shift into it. It’s much less expensive than a full replacement.

This blog is brought to you by a gentle dentist in Lafayette, LA who treats children.
We treat autistic and other special needs children.