Shark Teeth! Duh-nuh, Duh-nuh, Duh-nuh, Dun-nuh, Duh-nuh…

I guess I could have gone for “doo doo doo doo doo doo doo “ baby shark teeth! But I’m a child of the 80s so when I think sharks, I think Jaws, I can’t help myself. I also grew up on the Jersey shore, so go figure. But let’s get back to why you’re here:

Shark teeth! Can I say that about my kid’s teeth? Can I say that about YOUR kids teeth? Honestly, dentistry hasn’t come up with a better turn of phrase so that’s the term even WE use to describe these teeth. Most commonly they are the very first front teeth to start showing up in your little one's mouth, they are almost always the bottom front two teeth and they poke through BEHIND the bottom front two baby teeth; for many parents this gives them pause.

I’ve received a lot of images from parents wondering if this is “ok”. While maybe not ideal, it is fairly common. What I am most concerned with is whether the baby tooth in the front is starting to move when this is happening. If so, encourage your little one to wiggle, twist and turn and shout … wait, not shout, but definitely wiggle and twist that loose baby tooth. 

Most of the time… *most* of the time, they can get it out. I’m only worried if the baby tooth is still in place when the adult tooth’s top edge is close to as high as the baby tooth’s edge. At that point there’s a possibility the adult tooth could lose some of its “eruptive potential” if we don’t remove the baby tooth and it could get stuck behind the arch (that’s how I was trained and I haven’t seen evidence to the contrary yet so that’s what I still go with).  I make taking those baby teeth out as easy as possible  should we need to go that route but until then…. twist and shout! (just not in the house)