Children generally lose their first tooth around the age of 6 or 7. For most kids, it’s an extremely exciting thing to have happen to them, likely because of the chance that the Tooth Fairy will come by while they’re sleeping.

For some kids and parents though, it can be somewhat traumatic. Sometimes the “tonguing” of the tooth can be irresistible yet produce a pain the child may have never had before. Other times, it may be “hanging by a thread” and be begging to be yanked, but the child is frightened or the parent is squeamish to go through with it.

Should you decide to pull the tooth (usually one of the lower incisors (front) teeth will go first), there are some important steps you should take, as well as things to pay attention to.

How to Safely Remove a Loose Baby Tooth

1. Whether it’s you or the child who is going to do the pulling, make sure that you both have washed your hands with an antibacterial soap, very thoroughly. Bacteria will enter even the tiniest holes.
2. With the tip of a finger, wiggle the tooth back and forth (if it’s not already hanging) to loosen it up. If the tooth isn’t moving more as you wiggle, it may not be ready to come out.
3. Once the tooth’s really loose, use a piece of sterile gauze to get a firm grip on the tooth and pull straight upwards. If the tooth doesn’t come out on the first pull, you can try again after some more wiggling.
4. If the tooth’s out, the gum may begin to bleed a little, so have the child lean forward with another piece of gauze held on the open area with some pressure, so as to avoid swallowing any blood and becoming nauseated. The bleeding should stop in a minute or so. If it doesn’t, seek professional assistance.
5. Check to see that the whole tooth came out, because any fragments left in the gum can cause problems. If there are pieces left, don’t try to remove them yourself, take the child to the dentist or emergency clinic to get the remaining piece removed by a medical professional.If it came out completely, and you want to start the Tooth Fairy trend, then place it under the child’s pillow before bedtime and wait for the morning cheers!

Tags: baby teeth, Bratz, Child, children's tooth care, dentistry, first loose tooth, Incisor, loose baby teeth, Michael Lembeck, pulling teeth, Santa Claus, Tooth, Tooth Fairy

This entry was posted on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 6:06 am and is filed under tooth care for children. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.