Loose tooth at 3.5

Sarah has a loose upper incisor- not desperately loose but able to be wiggled a bit. She's been complaining it hurts since last night and I wrote it off as nothing at first, but when she kept complaining I wiggled it and noticed the looseness. So does anyone know, is it normal for a little one this age to lose teeth, or for it to hurt? She hasn't hit her mouth or tooth on anything that I or she can remember, but I just told her to leave it alone and not wiggle it in case she might make it worse. I'd hate to go the dentist (we pay out of pocket) for a tooth that's just going to fall out eventually on it's own, but at the same time, I don't want her to be in pain, so I'll do it if I have to. Any advice?

 

I think it might be a good idea to go see her dentist. The baby upper front teeth usually don't become loose until they are 6-8 years old when their permanent teeth are ready to erupt. Ideally I don't think you want a child to lose a baby tooth until their permanent tooth is going to erupt because it helps maintain the space for the permanent tooth to come in. The dentist will be able to examine her baby tooth to make sure that it is ok and that the permanent tooth is developing correctly. Here is an article from WebMd.

WebMd child's dental health article

 

I agree that it might be best to see what the dentist thinks. Keep us posted on what they say.

 

Thanks all, but she woke up this morning and said it no longer hurts, thank goodness. :good:

 

You should still have it checked if it is loose already.

 

Just wanted to add to everyone else's responses that the avg. age to lose 1st teeth is 4-6 and front teeth are typically the 1st ones lost. So it is likely that she is just losing her 1st tooth, but most dentists would not not charge you to examine a child that young (my husband doesn't and neither do any of his friends) and having it looked at would be a good idea and ease your mind.