Do children's permanent teeth get longer or show more the older they are? My daughter is 7 and her front adult teeth are in. They are a little shorter than my adult teeth. Will they grow more? She chipped a tiny piece, 1 mm or so off the bottom of her front tooth. The dentist says she can file it to make it smooth, but I just don't want to make her teeth too short. Thanks for any advice.
Not to worry. Permanent teeth do grow.
As to chipped tooth, if it's rough then have dentist smooth the edge. I have an angled chip on my front tooth. The edge is smooth and it's never concerned me. It's like a birth mark. Makes me an individual.
Depends on the person. I know people with huge teeth, and people with tiny teeth.
I wouldn't worry about it. I would let the dentist file it just so you don't have to worry about the edge cutting her lip, then leave it be. (We used to use a fingernail file and do it ourselves when I was a kid and we didn't have insurance...)
I second Marie's answer. Teeth are widely variable in size. And I have filed a chip off my own tooth because I couldn't afford to have a dentist do it. The gritty, grinding noise was almost painful (I have sensory issues), so I just worked on it for a minute a day. In a week it was smooth.
Yes, they will grow. When I was in 1st grade I broke off one of my permanent front teeth. It was so close to the root that they couldn't drill on it and he didn't want to pull it. I think because there wasn't enough tooth to grasp. I had to wear the ugliest gold partial on it until my tooth grew enough that the break wasn't near the root. Finally right before my freshman year the dentist felt comfortable drilling on it. The permanent cap I have on it now is just slightly bigger than my other front tooth because he over estimated a little how big my other front tooth would grow. I would guess it is about a mm longer. No one even notices. We were together for probably 8 years before my husband even knew I had a capped tooth. He overheard me telling our daughter how it got broken. I would let the dentist file it. In the future if it is noticeable to the point where it bothers her she can probably get the other tooth filed to match.
Our teeth might look longer when we're older because our gums recede a bit as we age.
Filing the chipped edge will just smooth it a bit - it won't shorten it by any noticeable amount.
They might need some bonding when she is older. My son's are smaller as well and they've told me when his braces are off, he'll need bonding.
caution, your dentist has xrayed your wallet, sure the dentist can file the tooth and make it smooth, but how long will that last? as long as its not jagged and sharp enough to cut the childs tongue..its a non issue. and yes the childs teeth will grow, so, lets say your dentist files and does a cleaning, they are gonna want to do xrays too, all told you just spent about five hundred dollars on teeth that are going to grow or just become chipped again..which the dentist will "recommend" be filed and cleaned and xrayed..again. K. h.
Permanent teeth are completely formed and full size before baby teeth are even lost. Sometimes adult teeth appear to grow, but that is not true. They simply descend slowly but normally or the gum line might recede.
Teeth are not all the same size in people, so your daughter has the size of adult teeth that she is meant to have. I would not bother to file the tooth chip unless it is hurting her.
Added: I don't understand Karin's reply. Routine cleaning (twice per year) and occasional xrays (every 1-3 years) are standard preventive dental care, regardless of having a chipped tooth or not.
