As my daughters two front teeth come in i have noticed there is a pretty large gap between them. SHould i be worried?? Do this mean she will always have a gap?? She has 5 teeth right now, when do i see a dentist, my ped. said at 3 years old, but that seems too far away to me.
Don't worry about it at this point in time. My daughter who is 8 had a gap and as she grew and her teeth came in the gap lessened over time. She still has a small gap but they won't do anything until 9 or 10 anyway when they have all their adult teeth.
I took her ato the dentist at 3 but make sure you start brushing her teeth now with the finger thing or a very soft small bristle brush to get her used to it.
Leeann
Tara--I wouldn't worry about it. Though there are advocates for braces on baby teeth--I disagree. As she gets more and more teeth the room in her mouth will fill up. I would take her to the dentist at 3 (My dentist said 3 for girls, 3-1/2 for boys). You can start taking her with YOU though so she is used to the equipments, etc at a dentist office. Maybe they'll even give her a little mock-exam in the chair.
My daughter's teeth came in with a gap too. My mother works at a dentist office and I had my mom's dentist check it out (free)when she was two. He found that the flap of skin connecting your lip to your gums was actually down to her teeth, which was causing her gap. The only way to fix it was to snip it. As luck would have it (at least in our situation) she had to have her tonsils out so the doctor did it during that surgery. She is now three and a half and still has the gap but we are hopeful that when her teeth fall out and her permanent ones come in the gap will be gone. Hope this helps! May not be your daughter's problem but never hurts to look. It is actually something you can see if you check it out yourself. I just never thought to look.
A gap is not uncommon with the first two teeth -- what is more apt to happen is crowding when she gets her adult teeth.
Tara
My daughter who is 3 has a big gap and I was concerned too so I started taking her to the dentist at 2. She has had 2 visits so far and the dentist doesnt seem to be concerned. He mentioned Laurne Hutton to me and I was like..... o.k?He told me its hereditary...
He counts her teeth and gets her used to being in the chair and the examination and then gives her a toothbrush.
I have heard that its a good thing that it leaves more room for her big teeth to come in. But I wouldnt be too concerned right now its way too early to tell.
The bigger the gap the better, when they lose their baby teeth the adult teeth are bigger and that means that there will be plenty of room for them to come in. Valerie
hi TARA,
My daughter and HER daughter both had gap front teeth ..as well as, Madonna , Jewel etc... [ it is cute]
better to have a gap than NOT ENOUGH ROOM IN HER MOUTH.
MY daughter and grand child are great big smilers ! NEVER NEEDED BRACES and had a perfect set of teeth for all the dental office employees to ck. out !!!for educational reasons .
gap moved together .
I took my child @ 18 mo to dentist ..
have FUN w/ gap .. use it as a fountain in the tub , all kind of silly gap games .. chuckle ..
take her to a dentistfor peace of mind .they count her teeth , can tell if they are straight , crowed, etc ...
grammy
No worries, My daughter had the same gap. She is getting her adult teeth now and they are coming in beautifully! There is plenty of room for them and they are just right.
Rebecca
http://jewelrymama.blogspot.com
Hi Tara, My daughter is now almost 8 years old. And I actually started introducing her to the dentist very early. I would go for a cleaning and they would allow me to have her site on my belly to see what was going on. It was great. She actually saw the dentist the first time when she was 2 years old. They just counted teeth, did a simple cleaning and such. I think this has been the ticket for us....I was a child who grew into an adult terrified of the dentist. To this day I refer to my ped dentist as Dr Drill and Fill!! My daughter will go back by herself now, and she just had to have a pallate expander put in and she had no anxiety what so ever. My suggestion is start bringing her with you, so she can see what is going on, before you try to put her in that big chair by herself. One other thing we did is when she did have her first appt at 2 yrs. She laid down on me instead of in the chair by herself. That also helped the first 2 visits. Now she is a pro!!! Good Luck!! Kim
Hi: My 18 month old daughter has sort of the same issue where her two front teeth look like they are coming in crooked (they look chipped). I take my 4 year old to a pediatric dentist and ran the situation by him, being concerned (as you are) that this was abnormal and would be permanent. He said that we should not worry about how the teeth come in as babyteeth, and that they are younger than 3, the teeth still develop and grow in gradually, which is why they don't want to see kids until they are 3+ years old.
Depending on where you live, I can give you the name of the dentist--they are very well-known. I live in Main Line in PA.
hi i took my daughter to the dentist when she turned three and i had a 6 month old then and he recommended to start at 1 year old because they can help you with tips on how to prevent decaying and cavities. so if you feel you should take her i would. i wish i would of taken my daughter before three she has one little cavity and he said it's in the middle of the front tooth, it could have been avoided by starting to take her sooner. well i hope i gave you a little bit of good advice. Amber S
Don't worry about it at all. Dentists actually like to see a little gap in the baby teeth. That way there is plenty of room for those adult teeth when they come in. My daughter had gaps between all of her baby teeth, but now she's almost 8 and has severe crowding on the bottom and crowding on the top as well. She is already seeing an orthodontist. My youngest son has even larger gaps in his teeth. The front teeth have a huge space between them (top and bottom), but I'm hoping that the extra space will be enough to prevent crowding later. Of course genetics play a roll in how crowded your child's teeth are, but regardless you should not be worried by gaps. They are generally a good thing in baby teeth. :) So don't worry! If it would make you feel better, take her to a pediatric dentist for a consultation.
No you shouldnt be worried. Spaces between baby teeth are good it give the adult teethmore room to come in. No worries and if you wanted to you can bring ur daughter to the dentist when she gets more teeth it cant hurt
This totally normal. Baby teeth are seperated because 1- they are small and 2- this speration leaves space for adult teeth to come in later in life.
And age 3 is a very acceptable time to see the dentist for the 1st time.
she will get other teeth in her mouth and the front two will probably shift together. i would not worry unless this happens when she gets her grown up teeth.
Tara, Relax!! There will be gaps...there has to be space for the larger adult teeth when they come it. You can start taking her to a ped. dentist around the age of 2 or three (I started at age two with all three of mine). I recommend Dentistry for Kids, they have offices all over the area...the dentist's are all great and the staff is just amazing! My girls actually enjoy their dentist visits. Best wishes.
my son also had a gap when his teeth came in. I thought he would always have it because I did as a child and had to have braces. He is three now and as his other teeth grew in it closed the gap. his teeth now look completely normal. No gaps or crooked teeth. I don't know if your daughters will grow together or not, but at least you know there is hope. good luck.
I just went through this with my daughter. My triplets went to the dentist for the first time recently at age 4. I would call around to area dentists, unless you know a dentist you'd like to go to in the future, and just ask at what age do they want to see children for their first visit.
"The fraenum (or fraenulum) that attaches the top lip to the upper portion of the gum is called the maxillary labial fraenum. An abnormally low maxillary labial fraenum is the most common cause of gapped front teeth in the upper jaw. This gap is called maxillary diastema. The abnormal fraenum is attached so low on the gum-line that it props apart the two front teeth."
This is what my daughter has. The dentist said not to worry about it now, but before she loses her front teeth we may want to see an oral surgeon, where he will simply numb the area and do a quick snip on that skin. Short and simple.
With your children being so young I wouldn't worry about it right now. It's possible it could still grown closer together as more teeth come in. It can be simply fixed without braces or some other extreme, if your child's gap is like my daugheter's.
Karen B
mom to 5 including triplets
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Hi Tara,
Relax, it could be nothing or something cosmetic. My 7 year old has it too. It's not uncommon for it to look that way as their teeth come in. However, Sarah's never changed. At her first appt. which is around 3-4. the dentist showed me that the skin between her lip and gum is a lot longer then normal. NOt that it's not normal but that is what causes the gap between the teeth. If I wanted to solve the gap that would have to be snipped. I don't know how involved that would be but I will ask at her appt next week. She doesn't want it done. It's not a braces thing it's that skin that needs cut or cut back. Sarah is my6th child and none of the other kids have had this so this is my first round. If it is simple I may consider it if it turns out to be a big deal to "solve" I will probably wait for her to make that choice. If it's cosmetic that's going to be her call but if it would turn out to impact health I'll decide. Such as all the other teeth will be too crowded then you have te cavity issue. I will weigh the options when I get more details. I hope this helps but don't be too worried about it either way it's not a big deal. Have a wonderful week.
Lisa