My child’s tooth is not erupting, what should I do?

Baby teeth start erupting at around the age of 4 to 6 months and all the 20 primary teeth should be present in the toddler’s mouth when he turns three years old. The first baby teeth that usually erupt are the lower incisors followed by the upper incisors. The most evident sign that baby teeth are missing is when they fail to erupt or there are large spaces between those that had erupted. Since the “baby teeth” start developing when your child is in the womb, missing these teeth is rare.

The main reasons that baby teeth don’t develop and erupt are due to difficulties during the pregnancy, premature delivery or genetic factors. If the “baby teeth” are missing there is a need to find the reason for it. Dr. Kaufman can check and find out what the condition of the teeth is.

Permanent teeth start replacing the primary teeth or “baby teeth around the age of six years old. The first teeth to be replaced are the lower incisors, the same teeth which were first to erupt.

If permanent teeth fail to erupt usually it is because there are obstructions in their eruption path or they are missing. The obstructions can be a retained primary tooth or an “extra” tooth which is called an odontoma. If an obstruction is the reason for the tooth not erupting, many times removing the obstruction will allow for the tooth to naturally erupt. But if the are missing it is important to check what are the reasons and if there are more teeth missing. Dr. Kaufman can check if the teeth are present or not and what are the possible solutions to help them erupt or replace them.

If you have any concerns or if there are gaps in your child’s smile please make an appointment to see Dr. Kaufman to find what options your child has.