Is it normal for a child to lose teeth at the age of five and a half?

We all know that children will change their teeth as they grow. This is a very normal thing and parents do not need to worry too much. However, it is important to note that during the tooth replacement period, children’s bad habits must be corrected, such as picking or touching their teeth with their hands, etc., as these may cause dental problems. Sometimes some children change their teeth relatively early, so is it normal for a child to lose teeth at the age of five and a half?

Taking six years old as the benchmark, it is normal to replace teeth after adding or subtracting one and a half years. It will certainly not affect the child's future teeth. Of course, they should develop good habits of cleaning their teeth and eat less sugar (rinse their mouths immediately after eating). For children aged five or six, health care and care during their tooth replacement is very important. Because the newly grown permanent teeth will accompany them almost throughout their lives, they are directly related to whether the children's teeth will be neat and beautiful in the future, and will also affect their diet, appearance, and even psychology. Therefore, parents should strengthen their care for their children during this period so that their children can have healthy teeth in the future.

Problems during tooth replacement

1. Retained deciduous teeth

The phenomenon of deciduous teeth not falling out when they should is called retained deciduous teeth.

(1) The main causes are: ① misalignment of permanent tooth germ; ② local inflammation; ③ loss of permanent tooth germ.

(2) Treatment: Retained teeth that have erupted but have not yet fallen out should be extracted as soon as possible to avoid affecting the eruption of permanent teeth in the normal position. If the deciduous teeth have not fallen out and the permanent teeth have not erupted after the age of tooth replacement, do not extract them easily. If the permanent teeth are congenitally missing, the deciduous teeth should be retained as much as possible.

2. Early loss of deciduous teeth

The loss of deciduous teeth before they should fall out is called premature loss of deciduous teeth. This often causes the adjacent teeth on both sides to tilt toward the gap between the missing teeth, making the gap between the missing teeth smaller and causing the permanent teeth to erupt out of place due to insufficient space. A gap maintainer should be worn in the gap between deciduous teeth to prevent the teeth on both sides from tilting until the permanent teeth erupt.

3. Difficulty in eruption of permanent teeth

When permanent teeth fail to erupt after the period of tooth replacement, it is called delayed eruption of permanent teeth.

The main reasons are: ① Early loss of deciduous teeth; ② Supernumerary teeth; ③ Obstruction of odontoma or cyst; ④ Abnormal development of permanent teeth themselves; ⑤ Genetic factors; ⑥ Calcium deficiency.

4. Misaligned teeth

Temporary misalignment of bite sometimes occurs during the period of tooth replacement, but it will often adjust itself back to normal during the process of tooth development. Some malocclusions cannot be adjusted by themselves, which will affect facial development and should be treated in the hospital.

5. Double teeth

The permanent teeth come out before the deciduous teeth fall out, causing the teeth to be arranged in two rows, front and back. This is not uncommon and is most likely caused by the failure of the primary tooth roots to fully resorb. Your child should be taken to the hospital as soon as possible to remove retained deciduous teeth to make room for the permanent teeth to erupt.