5yr.old And Teeth Extractions

Most times when I take my daughter to the pediatric dentist I see young kids getting teeth pulled. I am always amazed that I have never seen tears and the kids come out smiling and happy. I don't think it's that big of a deal to the kids.

I remember having my teeth pulled before braces at age12 and it was nothing.

Our (just) four year old daughter just had her top front teeth extracted the other day. She had a fall and fractured her teeth so they had to come out. I was much more freaked out than she was. Our regular dentist referred us to a pediatric dentist where they could sedate her. She was not put under entirely and she was totally fine. She was given Versed, then a topical anethesia then novacaine(sp?). Now, her teeth were already loose so I'm sure that helped. What was really crucial to me was this particular dentist and his staff-who were absolutely wonderful with our girl! She was comfortable and respected and I had little worries. If you are comfortable with your dentist, that's really important in my book. I just completely trusted them. If you want a referral, let me know because I would refer this place to everyone. hp

two years ago my son (then 9) was punched in the mouth and it broke his 4 adult front bottom teeth and cracked two back ones. while he was in gettng the x-rays to make sure there was no more damage hidden they found that two of his teeth were impacted and the baby teeth needed pulled so the adult teeth could come in. they gave him novacaine on the gums then shots of it to deaden everything. he didn't feel a thing. he said the worst part was having them pulled because of the pressure, as he put it, it felt like they were pulling on his intire head. he was so scared going in, crying and everything. but when he came out he was all smiles and said it didnt hurt at all( other than pressure). what got to him the more was him teasing that he should get more from the tooth fairy (who he didn't believe in anymore) since he had to go through more to get them.. i told him he didn't get anything since they didn't fall out on their own. that bothered him more than the teeth removal, but all was good the next morning when he still got the money. and was able to take the teeth to school to show off how long the roots were. he doesn't have any problems going back to the dentist, and one of our other sons has to have a tooth removed due to the same thing soon and ty was telling him what was done, how they did it and how it doesn't hurt and he will get ice cream afterwords and still get money from the tooth fairy.

Good luck and i hope he has a positive experience also!

B.,

My daughter is 10yrs old and in the past 3-4 years she has had 6 teeth removed. She has a VERY crowded mouth. I think she has actually only lost 2 teeth on her own. She was only given novacaine each time this was done. She was really scared the first time, but after it was done, she said it wasn't that bad. Each time she has it done the doctor says he wants to make a video of her getting her teeth pulled because she was the best patient when it comes to getting teeth pulled. We go back to the dentist in June and I have a feeling that she will need more pulled again. When I was a kid I had 6 or 7 taken out all at once.

Good Luck and I am sure it will go ok!!

I don't think there is any way to sugar coat it. He will probably scream and cry. MY SIL is a dental assistant and she says it's soooo hard when they have to remove teeth on little kids, especially when they're as young as 5. They cry and scream...she's even had to assist in holding them down. Ish. I'd avoid it if possible...I'm wondering why the dentist is so insistant upon this procedure.

I had 4 teeth taken out when I was under 10 and it was for the same reason...over crowding. Well,...my adult teeth were not ready to come in when the dentist thought and so after a few years the gaps began to close up where the teeth were pulled. Then, when my adult teeth did finally come in, there wasn't enough room so they came out in my gums and out crooked through the roof of my mouth...it's very ishy and now I'm 36 and seriously considering braces when I wish I just would have had them when I was young...and the pulling teeth procedure was supposed to avoid that. I get mad everytime I think about it. I'd maybe get a second opinion.

I agree with Heather! My son had to have his two middle bottom teeth extracted due to an accident at preschool at age 3 (getting hit in the mouth with another kid's head!).

Our family dentist, who we trust implicitly, refused to do the procedure in her office because of the potential lasting trauma & stigma about going to the dentist. So, we ended up at Children's West for a 4 minute surgery under general anesthesia. I was scared to death, but it went wonderfully & it was the best decision we could have made. Our son still really likes to go to the dentist, and never had any ill effects from the extraction procedure.

It's definitely not an easy decision - I cried and cried and cried. :) I can say that I'm glad we didn't have them taken out at the dentist's office - that would have been a nightmare.

Good luck!

I had 4 teeth extracted at that age for over crowding. I just had the gas and all of the pulling and tugging was extremely scary. To this day if I need any extractions (I have had 8 more since then) I get put under so I don't feel anything. I also hate the feeling of being on the gas which probably started from that experience. While I was "high" I had to go to the bathroom and I felt like I was screaming at the top of my lungs and no one was coming to check on me.

I'd get a second opinion. I'm not a dentist, but my maternal instinct says this procedure seems truly unnecessary for a child this young.

Surgery, whether its a day thing at the dentist's office or a full-on hospital stay is still major surgery. I mean anesthesia etc. for something that seems can wait until he's a teen needing braces seems a bit extreme. Short of a real serious medical issue, I'd tell the dentist to forget it. At the bare minimum, I'd definitely do my homework on the viability of tooth extraction at this age, and find out and weigh the benefits to the drawbacks. My hunch is there are far more drawbacks to benefits.

Hi B.
The dentist can be a scary person for anyone. My daughter need to have fillings at 4 and the dentist gave her laughing gas and numb her and did what he need to and she sat VERY well in his chair. I personally think fillings are worse than having teeth pulled I think he will do fine as long as he dosen't sense you are nervouse. Good Luck ;)T.

I would check another denist. My six year old just had his front tooth pulled at the denist. It was a baby tooth and an infection and need to come out before it effected the adult tooth.

She gave me three options, num his gum in the office, go to another place to have laughing gas, or have him put under.

I choose the office and numbing because he is an easy going kid and I knew he would sit and let them do it. He did very well the last couple pulls he reacted to. He told them it hurt but no tears or anything. They gave him a matchbox and off he went. Now he tells ya they wrenched out my tooth and smiles to show the gap.

I know my oldest daughter would not be able to handle it if she needs to have it done. Her, I would have to have knocked out so she doesn't see, hear or feel anything. She stresses over everything.

If you think he will not sit still I would think about taking him to a place that will put under general anastia (sp?).

My son has had two extractions...one done under general anethesia in the hospital and one done with novocaine/laughing gas in the office.

Keep in mind he was only 4 at the time of each, but the hospital experience was BY FAR the better decision we made. It seems like overkill for a simple tooth removal, but it was soooo less traumatizing on our son than the in office one was 3 months later. He STILL remembers the in office visit...the hospital visit is rarely a blip on his radar.

If your dentist would be up for it, I would chat with him about that option. Our health insurance covered part of the cost since it was technically surgery, so that helped.

Just something for you to think about. Good Luck!