Teeth - Minneapolis, MN

K.,

It is actually much better in the long run to have spaces between baby teeth. It means there will be more room for the adult teeth. My sister's daughter had all kinds of gaps and ended up w/ perfect teeth w/o braces. Her son, on the other hand, had beautiful baby teeth with no room for his adult teeth and ended up in braces. Don't worry about the gap. <smile>

I would wait to see how the front teeth get pushed by others coming in. It could be a benefit. I had my adult teeth (at age 12) with quite the space and would worry about it. But, when my other adult teeth came in, they got pushed together beautifully.

It's better now to be concerned with their oral health than the placement. I would try to get that Nuk away from her as that can cause problems especially with the tooth placement as her 2 and 4 year molars come in.

K.-

I'm a registered dental hygienist and work in a very progressive general practice in the Waunakee area. In a general practice we start seeing children as young as 3 years old. A pediactric dentist (pediodontist) will see children from 0 on up. I think getting your daughter to see a pediodontist might not be a bad idea at this point. You want your child to have spaces between her teeth so that there will be enough room for the permanant teeth to errupt but her bite (where her teeth occlude or come together) should all be in the same plane. What you are explaining is an open bite. One that can cause issues as she grows, such as speech problems or airway issues or cosmetically not looking attractive. There is a new movement in the dental field for those dentists that are on top of things to do what is called Phase 1 orthodontics to correct these problems early so that down the road your childs quaility of life will be better. Phase 2 ortho is what we commenly refer to as braces. Phase 1 may consist of cementing a retainer to her teeth to correct her pallete/jaw and getting rid of the nuk. I don't want to scare you or have you think that your daughter is doomed to life long problems without getting treatment but it's worth having a qualified person take a look. Her primary doctor will not be as knowledgable about this issue so seeking out the right fit for a pediodontist is the way to go. There are some wonderful DDS at Children's Center for Dentistry of Madison. Good luck.

My sister in law is a great pediatrician and she said that research shows that nuks are OK until age 2 at least and may help prevent SIDS. My daughter never liked them much and does her thumb when she is really tired and she has spaces around her teeth, but not as significant as what it sounds like you are saying. If I were you, I'd just take her in to a children's dentist and have them take a look or ask your pediatrician. Good luck!!

I don't think it's a big concern at this point. See what her permanent teeth are like. And I've heard it's good to start taking kids to the dentist at about 3, so if you go in a few months, the dentist might have more info.

On the other hand, the nuk is probably not a good idea. I know they've come a long way so they're not supposed to hurt their teeth, but it might have an effect on how her permanent teeth come in. It's a really tough thing to get rid of - we went through that battle with my son at about 18 mos. - but it's worth it in the end. Your daughter is probably old enough to understand trading in the nuk for something she'd like - maybe a new toy or something cool for her room. Or I've heard some moms say they convince their child to "pass on" their nuks to a new baby the family knows. Pack the all up in a baggie and make a big show of giving them to the new baby. (Of course, the nuks end up being thrown away or returned in secret to be stored away.) Just some ideas.

My mother is a dental assistant, and she told me it's perfectly normal for baby teeth to have space around them. It allows for permanent teeth to grow in without becoming jumbled up due to lack of space. However, your daughter should have been weened from her nuk around the same time she was from the bottle. Prolonged use of nuks have proven to push front teeth torward causing an overbite, and also speech delay. Find another comfort item for her, such as a blanket, or special stuffed animal. Beleive me, in the long run it will be benificial.

I brought my daughter to the dentist at 2yrs.old becuase she fell and bumped her teeth on the bench at church. I was worried her tooth nerves were dead.Her tooth was discolored and has gotten better on it's own. Anyways I started bringing her for regular checkups starting at the recommeneded age of 3. I have always brought her to a pediatric dentist knowing she was gonna be scared being so young. We go to a wonderful office where the parents sit behind a glass wall and can watch everything (kids listen better that way) or if they're real young or really scared mom can go back with them and hold their hands. I've seen kids get their teeth pulled and come out smiling and laughing. Also if they ever need to do a cavity or something they have laughing gas to relax the children in kid smells like bubble gum and usually a regualar dental office can't use laughing gas on children. That helped us big time with her 3 cavities. I go to the office Eagan and my daughter see's Dr.Lipshultz but there are several other ped.dentists in the same office. ###-###-####

It really isn't a concern until adult teeth. Young children don't need to see the dentist unless they have decay on their teeth so make sure you are brushing them. My dentist doesn't feel the need to do exams on children that young but recommends that parents bring young children with when they are going for a cleaning so that they can get used to the office and see that it is not something to fear. Your dentist might even take a quick look at her teeth and ease your fears. I think it was between 4 and 5 that my daughter started going for her own exams. At that young age the only thing the dentist will do is cleaning, discussing brushing, and possibly sealants. They can start retainers and things around 8 if it seems necessary. If you break her of the nuk habbit her teeth might move back together on their own. I think I read somewhere that it is best to stop using it between the ages of 1 and 2 for dental reasons and to allow the child to create healthy methods for calming themselves down and promote speech.(especially enunciation) Hope this information helps!

I've actually heard that it could be a good thing that the teeth aren't touching yet, it leaves space for the adult teeth which tend to be bigger.

I have worked in a Dental office as a Dental Assistant for 10 years and just recently became a SAHM who does child care now. Don't worry after she stops sucking on her pacifier her teeth will go back to relitivly normal. They are just baby teeth so they will fall out. As long as her back teeth are touching I wouldn't worry she can still eat. But I would suggest waening her from her nuk though and at the dental office that I worked at we started seeing kids at the age of two. If you brought her there they will tell you the same thing but It would give you a little peace of mind. I hope this helps!!!

if possible, i would work on taking away the nuk. Her teeth could correct themselves, and it would be one less thing you would have to worry about carrying around and/or losing :)

I would take the nuk away. I hsd my dsughter at the dentist at a very young age, it helps them learn what the dentist does and that they are there to help like dr. I didn't want eith of my childrent o be afraid to go to the dentist so I started them both early. I would visit the dentist even if it's not a cleaning, but just to check things out. I've see amazing results once nuks are gone and ther is no finger or thumb sucking.

Hi K.,
I work at a children's dental office. The gap between the front are a good thing unless you notice that it is because of the nuk. If the front teeth are being pushed forward, you need to take it away. At this age she should not be using it if you are worried about her teeth. My son started biteing his nuk with his front teeth at the age of 2 and his teeth started to push out, so as soon as I noticed that everyday I would cut a hole in the nuk, a little bigger everyday until there was nothing left. He tried to put it in his mouth only to find out that it was no fun anymore and he threw it on the ground and that was it. In primary baby teeth it is good to have the extra space between the teeth because that gives the permanent teeth more room to come in. As for seeing a dentist, we see the children at two just to make sure everything is going well and if there are any cavities they can be taken care of in the early stages.

The space between her tooth is good. Baby teeth are much smaller than her perm. teeth. When she starts losing her teeth, she needs that space for her larger teeth to move in.
As for the open bite, if that is what she has. This could be because of the nuk. You should really work hard on stopping that habit. By the age of 3, if she is still using a nuk, it could really screw up her allignment. Her speach will be off, eating it tough when someone's front teeth don't touch.
When my daughter was done teething, 3 weeks before her 2nd B-day, I cut her nuk in half. (before this I had limited it to her bed only) I gave it to her and she coulnd't get the suck out of it and didn't like it. She cried for a little bit and fell asleep. It only took a few days and she was fine. I had the cut one for her if she wanted one and she hated it and chose not to use it.
I started carrying her blanket around and she became attached to it and that is what she wants for bed, along with her music and baby.

Good luck.

We had the same issue with our son. after we took the nuk away it was amazing the way his teeth changed--and really quite rapidly.

most little ones with baby teeth have gaps on inbetween teeth, i think its pretty normal, id give up the nuc though shes old enough.