Once your child starts losing their baby teeth, you are surrounded by many questions, doubts, and fears. You might love their gappy grin, but if the gap stays longer than expected, then it can turn worrisome for you.

It could be months before you see a new tooth coming out in place of the fallen tooth. In general, after the baby tooth has fallen off, it takes approximately six months to grow a permanent adult tooth in its place. But if your child is taking longer than expected duration, then you might start having questions in your mind about whether there is something wrong or if the tooth will never come out and be completely missing.

We bring to you a few reasons why a permanent tooth might take longer to come out so that you could consider them before you meet your dentist.

Reasons for Delay in Growing Permanent Tooth

While the delay in permanent tooth eruption could be about the tooth taking a little bit longer than the stipulated time, there could be other associated reasons that your dentist can diagnose.

• Less space for teeth is the most common reason for less space, and baby teeth are too close together. They do not leave enough gaps for the adult tooth to come out. Your dentist might suggest a couple of solutions to this problem.
• Permanent teeth coming out wrongly – Permanent teeth usually follow the same path as the baby or primal teeth. But sometimes, this might not happen, and the permanent tooth starts growing in the wrong direction (especially with upper canines). Due to this, the permanent tooth might get trapped between baby teeth that have not yet fallen. The suggested course of action for this is either orthodontics or tooth extraction. Your dentist might take X-rays to determine what kind of issue your child is having.
• Impacted teeth – At times, teeth might get lodged in the bone and cannot erupt out of the gumline. This happens mainly due to premature loss of baby teeth. X-rays can tell you if your child has impacted teeth or not. If there is not sufficient space, then the affected teeth will remain so and not come out.
• Nutrition – Your child’s eating habits have a lot of impact on their teeth development. Teeth require many nutrients (primarily calcium) to have the strength to push through the gum line. That is why food rich in calcium and vegetables is important for your child to have. Avoiding sodas and sugary food also helps in improving tooth development.

If you have concerns about your child’s teeth development, then you must seek professional advice from your dentist before it gets worse. The general guidance provided here will give you an idea of what might be happening with your child’s teeth, but you must visit your dentist to confirm the issue.

Schedule your appointment with a dentist in Azle, TX today and get the treatment on time!