My child has two rows of front teeth. Is something wrong?
Well, yes and no. Yes, it needs to be addressed and no, your child is not really a baby shark! It looks strange and does often cause parents concern. I actually see this quite often. The baby teeth have not come out like they were supposed to - it is most common with the lower front teeth when the child is six years old.
In the normal course of events, the permanent tooth slowly dissolves the root of the primary tooth as it comes up underneath. Eventually, there is not much root left, the baby tooth gets loose and falls out. The permanent tooth then comes in where the baby tooth used to be. Well, it just doesn't always happen like that.If the child doesn't have enough room for the permanent teeth, then the permanent tooth may not come in right up under the baby tooth. Even when there is lots of room, the new tooth may not be able to resorb the baby tooth root fast enough. It then takes the path of least resistance, which is to come in behind the baby tooth. That means there is nothing "pushing" the baby tooth and there may be quite a lot of primary root left.
The good news is the permanent tooth will tend to move forward into the correct position on it's own IF there is nothing in the way and there is enough room. A lot of parents hold out hoping the baby tooth will fall out on it's own. Some children are very aggressive in wiggling their teeth. Some just let them hang there! This can create a not so nice plaque trap, which leads to red and irritated gum tissue.
Often the retained baby teeth need to be taken out. This may involve making more room by removing the adjacent baby teeth or making the baby teeth more slender by "disking" them. If the new tooth hasn't come in very much (you haven't waited too long), then the new tooth will slowly move forward. This takes a few weeks or months. The tongue is a strong muscle and with the pressure it applies you may be surprised how quickly these teeth move into a better position!
