What is the usual procedure/outcome for a child whose baby teeth are very close together?

My first two boys’ baby teeth have no space between them at all. They are now 11½ and ten. The oldest still has many baby teeth left and is having two pulled next week. The dentist is pulling them because space is so tight, the adult teeth won’t break through until the baby teeth are gone. He still has plenty of baby teeth left after this so we’ll have to wait and see if he needs more pulled. The ten year-old has lost all but six of his baby teeth and those are very loose and should be out by summer’s end with no problem. The dentist has not sent them to the orthodontist yet, we just have to wait and see what they might need.

The youngest on the other had has plenty of space between his teeth. Because of his bite, the dentist has already sent him to the orthodontist where he was given a bite plate and head gear! This is the first of at least two phases of orthodontia he is going to need.

It feels like the luck of the draw to me.

@MissAusten It seems like your son will have teeth removed in time by a dentist. When I was a boy (I can’t remember how old I was at the time) I had bad overcrowding in my mouth and in the course of time had three teeth extracted, plus some other orthodontic work done. But don’t panic just yet. See what develops first. It seems to be a very common problem.

My daughter had the same problem. Her adult teeth came in on the roof of her mouth because the baby teeth were in the way. Three of her adult teeth had to be removed. Both her and my Mother in law have small jaws. The ortodonist suggested a palet expander, but we opted out of that for braces. She will be getting her braces off this December at the age of 15. They have worked wonders and she will be left with a beatiful smile. :)

@SuperMouse My dentist told my parents the same thing, to pull my baby teeth out so my adult teeth could come in. So, they pulled them and guess what? It took two years for my adult teeth to come in. It sucked so bad, I had six teeth pulled and had to go without them for pretty much all of middle school. I finally got braces at 13, with a metal bar over the missing teeth. I’ll be hesitant if a dentist ever tells me to get my childrens teeth pulled.

@MissAusten The only thing I know about close teeth is, my son is now 3 and the dentist said he has great spacing on the bottom but his top teeth are very close (his two front teeth overlap slightly, just like mine) She said that it sometimes indicates braces will be needed.

Thanks for the responses! It seems like the solution varies from person to person.

@Seaminglysew Through the roof of her mouth!? That is one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever heard! It probably wasn’t as bad as I’m imagining. Glad there was a happy ending!

@casheroo Wow! I think if the dentist suggests pulling baby teeth, we’ll try to do them as needed, not all at once. They usually come out in some kind of loose order, from what I’ve seen with my oldest two kids.

He has an appointment in August, and I’ll try to ask the dentist more about what to expect.

The dentist can tell if the root of the baby tooth is dead. Again in my daughters case, the root was dead but the baby teeth were wedge in so tight that they didn’t fall out on thier own. It may mean that they just have to be monitored a little closer. You are already ahead of the game if you are knowlegeable about the situation. Good luck.

I had to have my bottom two front teeth pulled out because they were too tight. Once the dentist pulled those two teeth, the others were able to loosen up, with the exception of my top canine teeth. I still have both baby teeth for them and would have to go through a lot to get the adults down in place now. I would have to get braces, then have the baby teeth removed, and then have brackets attached to the adult teeth to pull them down. Since I’m an adult, insurance won’t cover it because it’s orthodontic work. So, while it would suck for anyone to go through, I think it’s best to take care of all of the baby teeth while the teeth are growing and changing naturally. My orthodontist actually told me that even going through everything to have mine fixed now might be unsuccessful because of my age.

I wouldn’t so much worry about his baby teeth but more of the adult ones. Speaking from experience I have a small jaw and big teeth i had to get braces for almost three years they had to put a permanet retainer on my bottom teeth, basically it’s a piece of wire glued onto the back of where its needed. Now in not too long perhaps next summer I will be having to get my molders removed, they were VERY late coming in, and now the dentist says my wisdom teeth might not come up. You may be looking at a lot of money being spent on your child’s teeth in the future, my parents sure did.