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Monday, July 8, 2013

Another one bites the dust

Sorry, that song is stuck in my head... Ro was just sitting on the couch playing on the iPad and her wiggly tooth fell right out.

The same tooth, coincidentally, that just fell out while Ree was riding in the car the other day.DSC_9851-EditLR

The girls (Ree in particular, this is the first one she’s lost without dentist tools) are the last ones in their class to start losing a bunch of teeth.

And boy oh boy there is some serious crowding as those massive adult teeth vie for position. The dentist started mentioning braces two visits ago, and I’m thinking she’s not wrong...

Are your kiddos losing teeth early or late, and has your dentist already mentioned braces?

PS: I can’t stand the word verification, so I took that off and am using comment moderation instead. We’ll see if that works better. Dang spammers.

48 comments:

  1. Our daughter, 7 starts going to an orthodontist this fall. Apparently if they do the work early, it is less work in the end. I hope so. Braces are expensive!!

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    1. That's what our dentist said "early equals less" -- so nice to hear that others have heard the same!!

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  2. My daughters mouth is very crowded. She has had 7 teeth already pulled. We are waiting for 4 adult teeth to come in and then those get pulled. Then they will put the expander in and then braces. Her front tooth is sideways. I feel your pain. Love the toothless grins though.

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    1. Yes! "Expander" was the exact word our dentist used. Although at the time she was talking about Ree. Ro's bottom teeth are a hot mess. I think Ro has lost 5 teeth on the bottom now and it looks like there's only room for 2 or 3 adult teeth. Ugh.

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  3. Anonymous7/08/2013

    My daughter had to get braces at age 7. They were on her top teeth only. She had a small mouth and they were put there to help move teeth around to make room for her adult teeth. She also had to have an expander. This was phase 1 and her teeth looked great once she completed phase 1. She is now 11 and is on phase 2 and has a complete set of braces. Kim

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    1. Did the expander hurt? I'm only familiar with those horrid "twist the key every week" expanders from when I was a kid, and I remember those were painful...

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    2. I just asked Shana if it hurt and she said no that it was the most least painful thing of all. We did have to use a tool to turn it every night or at least I think it was every night. Shana had to lay on the couch with her head tilted back holding a flashlight to her mouth while I turned the expander :). Right now she says that the rubber bands have been the most painful part of the process which was not something that she's had to deal with until phase 2. Kim.

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  4. Marin's only 4 & our dentist has already said they are a definite for him. He mentioned a 2 phase thing, starting with an expander & moving to braces afterward. I too remember the dreaded "twist key" expanders. I had one of those & was very sore. Marin has no adult teeth yet, so we are a few years away. I got my own braces in 2nd grade. I had them off the same time everyone else was getting theirs on. In elementary school braces are considered very cool. So, I was glad I got them early!

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  5. Rieley turned 7 in April and still doesn't have a loose tooth in her mouth. Poor kid, wants to loose a tooth so bad.Your girls look adorable missing teeth.

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    1. This is the first one Ree has lost (two were pulled) and she is over the moon! Other kids in her class had lost 8 to 9 before the summer, and believe me she counted...

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    2. Anonymous7/12/2013

      Are they not some of the youngest children in their class/grade?

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    3. Around the youngest, there are about 20 fall bdays in their grade who started early like they did. The cutoff was "5 before Dec 2" back when they started kindergarten (it's slowly being moved back to the start of school). Many kiddos lost teeth even in kindergarten.

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  6. My dd had the expander thing and it not only widen her mouth but pushed some teeth back so she had two different keys. She had it for 9 months and had an exceptionally small mouth. Out of everything she has had done that was the least painful. She started at 11 and is now 14 and *still* has braces on. However, she has an ultra low tolerance for pain so her dentist put on braces where the wires only have to be changed every 8 to 12 weeks instead of every 4 and he is going as slow as humanly possible. At this point she is hoping to have them off by the time she is 15. Her mouth was a serious hot mess. Many teeth were in front of other teeth and one was above all the rest. She is in the final tweaking phase and her teeth look fantastic. Couldn't be happier and it was worth every tear (she won't admit that now but I know she will in the future). lol Oh and fwiw, I've had them paid off for two years now so even though I take her for wire changes, there isn't any extra charge. I love my ortho/dentist!

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  7. Here's a kicker for you....I have a grandson who is 8 and just lost his first tooth. To top it off he has 3 top front baby teeth instead of the normal 2 and when they x-rayed him the last time the dentist said he has 3 permanent top teeth. He does not look odd and you would never know it. Question is if all the teeth are going to fit in there. if not he is going to have a mouth of hardware and a bill to go with it.

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  8. My Cassie has a very VERY crowded mouth. I think she is the only kid of mine that I see a reason for a two-phase process. My two older boys had a big ole mess in their mouths (cross bite, over bite etc) and it was all handled quite fine with the usual one phase. I am bringing Cassie in to have the ortho do a look-see at her mouth. I prefer a more conservative approach, and she seems to have a good balance.

    As an aside...when I read the title I figured someone threw up. Between my sisters and I, if we ever sing/type that song it refers to another one throwing up. We've used that song A LOT this year. :P

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  9. Our sweet girl from Shangrao will undoubtedly be in braces but the dentist hasn't brought it up yet. I've had four kids and all four have needed them. Grateful we can afford to take care of this for them.

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  10. My daughter had an expander placed last fall, due to a cross bite.. she was able to push out the lower jaw ( this is a common maxilla facial issue with people of Asian descent), had to turn the key every night for 6 weeks, then she has worn a face mask for 12 hours a day for 8 months, end of August braces will go on. Seems as though the face mask/elastics worked have corrected the cross bite to a certain extent, this was a concern as she was getting the expander in late ( at age 9 ) but he was looking at it from a baby teeth all gone and adult teeth almost all in issue.. she did not mind the turning, she could feel it when it was done, has complied quite well with wearing the mask, we even took it to China, so we would keep to our routine, it has paid off. He is pleased with the movement, I think actually surprised, as we were when told we might be late in having anything done.. good luck!

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  11. Anonymous7/08/2013

    Love your new header. the girls are beautiful!

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  12. My son is now 13 and lost his first baby tooth at age: 8. Last summer when he was 12 he started with orthodontic work and the ortho sent us to oral surgeon. He had to have 5 baby teeth removed to start to make more room for the adult teeth. Two weeks ago he was back at same surgeon having two more baby teeth removed. Ugh. It seems his teeth just do not fall out. He still has three baby teeth left and he is wearing a spacer. Lots and lots of orthodontic work ahead. I never knew anyone who still had so many baby teeth left going into 8th grade! I am hopeful the last three will fall out on their own - soon!!

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  13. My sons are 9 and 11 and the dentist told us two years ago they both would need braces. Both still have to change their molars and when I went to the orthodontist with our youngest (who has an overbite) they said we could start early, but that meant you would have to keep adjusting it for a longer period, because when they are young the teeth go back to their old position more quickly than when they are older. That's different from what your dentist said...

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  14. So much change in just 2 short days! Love their new happy grins.

    At first I was surprised Ro lost her tooth until you said Rees list hers too! Bring on the tooth fairy!

    No list teeth here yet but there are days my 4-going-on-7 girl tries to convince me she has a loose one! LOL! Mama loves the baby teeth so no rush here!

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  15. I have one of each. My oldest is way behind her peers and my youngest is one of the early birds. The youngest has serious over crowding, but is missing 4 permanent teeth which will help. No dates for braces yet but both have been told they are coming. (oh it might help if I shared their ages, 11 and 6)

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  16. Mary W.7/09/2013

    My 12 year old just had her expander taken out. She didn't have the key kind, just one that was up in the roof of her mouth. She had it in for ~8 months. It didn't hurt but food would get caught in it. We knew the girls were going to need braces, but our ped dentist is very conservative and does them pretty late. We took her to the ortho in town that has a great reputation when she was 11.5 and he wanted to put them on right away. He also doesn't like to put them on until the kids have all their permanent teeth, but E's last two baby molars were starting to sink so putting the braces on has let them work themselves out (one fell out the other is wiggly). The ortho likes to do the braces during the kids big middle school growth spurt. He does put braces on littler kids but only if they are really messed up and those usually end up being braces now and braces again in a couple years.

    I was sure my little one was going to need them sooner, but he just checks her every 6 months and so far so good.

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  17. Rachel (Ting Ting) seems to be losing her teeth later than others in her class. She just lost her fourth one (in about 8 months), and she's 7 1/2. She has a couple that she says are wiggly, but none of them seem in a hurry to fall out.

    She has had a severe underbite from the beginning. I asked about it when she first went to the dentist, and they said she might need orthodontia in elementary school. They said the same thing others are saying, that it would be better to do it early because it's easier to set the teeth then. The dentist also mentioned her small mouth. She seemed to think we should let the teeth start coming in and see how they do, but I don't see how that would change an underbite! In fact, the permanent teeth seem rather large and crooked. So we'll probably be right along with you with early braces or exapnder or something.

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  18. My 8-year old also has a hot mess in her mouth. I asked our dentist about 2-phase v. 1 phase. His opinion is kids with 2-phase don't gain anything over the long haul & he sees a lot of 15-16 yr old kid needing crowns, etc because they didn't take care of their teeth while in braces for the extended time.

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  19. Um...M started seeing an orthodontist last summer. I think you could have picked my jaw up from the floor when our dentist mentioned she should see one. I may have stammered something along the lines of "but she doesn't even have many of her big teeth yet!!" in a bit more of a whiney/dramatic voice than intended. Interestingly, they haven't been able to do much for her yet, because....she doesn't have enough of her big teeth yet! Duh! ;-)

    Michelle

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  20. Yes, sigh, he's already mentioned braces. She's. two. Oh, boy.

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  21. My son lost his teeth right on time. The first one feel out on the basketball court and we never found it (tho it is appropriate for a jock). The rest would get so loose I would be afraid he would swallow them in the night, he was afraid of pulling them. Well at least until he figured out he would get lots of attention if he lost them at school, then he would pull them during the school day. He is 14 and no mention of braces for him.

    My daughter only lost one tooth without the help of the dentist. Her roots just never broke down. Her mouth is tiny and we thought we were on board for braces. Her saving grace was that she has one area where there are no adult buds, so we had those pulled and that should give her the room she needs. ( we does have a small appliance, but it was a fraction of the cost braces would have been).

    I still can`t tell your girls apart, but I think they look more unique as they grow older.

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    1. Definitely more unique, but TOTALLY understand the still not being able to tell them apart thing. I've spent enough time with other twins (who I can not tell apart) to understand that. I think in my case I can tell the other twins are different from each other but can't remember which has which characteristics, dang it.

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  22. Our dentist told us 3 years ago (when Cadence was 3!) that braces were likely in our future due to Asian teeth usually being quite large and leading to crowding. Cadence had two new teeth come in at 6 and 1/2 without losing any! We are now waiting for the second bottom one to dislodge ... should be any day now! From what I see ... it is time to start saving our $$$$$$ ... after a Disney cruise of course!

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  23. Anonymous7/09/2013

    LiLi got her 1 set of braces last year. She will have to have 2-3 phases. Lots of kids in my school seem to get them earlier because they move easier. Kind of nice because no one is in braces in high school!

    Sharyn

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  24. Anonymous7/09/2013

    Our first daughter had "expander" because of the crowding she was around 8 when all the new adult teeth start coming out. Our orthodontist do not recommend braces until they are 12. Well at 12, she had her braces. The main reason dentist and orthodontist do not recommend braces until 12 is because the munchkins before 12 are still getting their adult teeth. And the last teeth that comes in are the I teeth (I remember them as canine teeth). They will be the one fight for space. Well to make the long store short, she has been wearing them for 22 months and on Monday (7/8) she got them off. Also another reason to hold off on putting braces until they are older is the pain when the braces are adjusted. The older kids are able to handle this better.

    If you do go ahead and put braces on your twins, they will have to go back later when their permanent teeth are all in. That's another plan I was not ready for.

    My second daughter just turn 12 and she just got her braces on this year. She is adjusting pretty well with them and because her sister had them, she was able to learn more from her as to what to expect.

    That is my opinion - if you want to see what my 1st daughter new smile (without her braces) email me.

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  25. Anonymous7/09/2013

    My 10 year old twins will both be getting braces in the next year. They both have overbites. They do have overcrowding too but... they have had all of their adult teeth since they were 9 - including those pesky incisors that usually don't completely erupt until 12-13. The orthodontist wants mouth/bone growth to catch up a bit more to their advanced teeth before braces go on.
    Trish

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  26. A year behind you in age with our Gaozhou beauty but ahead in tooth loss. We've knocked out 6-7 of them. For some reason, I'm one short on my collection too. Maybe the tooth fairy REALLY did take that one. So far, the big teeth have come in nicely. Our 21 year old had to have an 'expander' device in but we've avoided braces on 2 of 4 so far and our 7 year old is looking good (for now). Probably just jinxed myself.

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  27. I have started hearing about the early braces as well. Maya had a tooth coming in behind her bottom tooth (she's 6 1/2). They had to pull the 4 bottom ones out for just the 2 to come in. Not sure what will happen, she has a tiny little Guatemalan mouth with big teeth coming in.........

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  28. Laura LaLuzerne7/11/2013

    My Grace was born with cleft lip/palette, so braces, bridges, whatever are definately in her future. she is mising 2 upper teeth. She is finally losing one of her bottoms at the age of 6 and 3 months.

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  29. DD knocked out her first tooth (front) when she was 2 so it has been missing for 5 years now. She has since lost 5 more. Her dentist from the very beginning talked about crowding issues and told us to start saving from the orthodontist.

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  30. Our soon to be 8 year old has only lost his 2 bottom teeth (which were pulled bc the permanent ones grew behind the baby teeth!)
    He is desperate for one of the top ones to fall out, but I think we still have a couple of more months to go. However, since he is a late bloomer when it comes to teeth and his mouth is sorta tiny, we were referred to a specialist for a consult. He got all the prelim work done and now has some fun gear for night time that should help him with his bite. Nothing painful or complicated thankfully!

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  31. We have had the whole gamut! 2 are in braces right now.,6 year old has only lost one tooth. I keep wondering when more will come out. He is desperate for tooth fairy to come.

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  32. Maylin has lost them late and only one without dental assistance. No mention of braces yet but I think it because all the adult teeth haven't come in yet. Isn't it fun?

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  33. Anonymous7/14/2013

    Oh my, the girls look like Tweens already. So beautiful. Totally off topic I know, but I couldn't resist. Gail (in Sonoma).

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  34. My daughter's front teeth became loose pretty much on schedule, but they did not fall out. They would just hang in her mouth until the dentist would pull them. Only one has come out on its own (one of the front ones) and that was after it was already rotted and hollow! I can't believe how they've hung on! In all cases, her big teeth were already halfway in before the baby teeth came out, so we never had a toothless grin. :(

    She hasn't lost any since the front teeth a year and a half ago (she lost the bottom 4 front ones 6 months earlier with assistance because of her second row of teeth!), and I don't know what the schedule is after that. She's 8 1/2 and none since the 2 front teeth.

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  35. Thank you everyone SO MUCH for the info!!!! You guys are awesome.

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  36. Little T has only lost her 2 bottom teeth and the top ones are even the least bit loose yet. Now my granddaughter Hannah is a different story! She is 5 and has already lost 4 teeth!! :)

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  37. Mary Grace7/18/2013

    As ridiculous as this sounds, my best friend graduated college with 7 baby teeth still in her mouth and at age 24 still has 5 of them. The dentist doesn't want to pull them for fear the adult teeth wont descend right away.

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