Every parent is faced with the problem of how to pull out their child’s very loose baby tooth at some point. Instead of using painful tactics, dentists recommend wiggling the tooth 20 to 30 times a day, or having the child bite on an apple.
A little boy is standing outside, a remote control in his hands. What appears to be dental floss is tied to a loose baby tooth on one end and a toy rocket on the other. Under the direction of his dad, and in a matter of seconds, the boy pushes a button, winces, looks skyward and then smiles broadly into the camera to reveal a bloody gap.
This is what can be found by today’s parents searching the Web for information on the age-old dilemma of what to do about a very loose baby tooth.
And if hits on YouTube tell you anything, the rocket method could overtake the old string-tied-to-a-doorknob trick: Jimmy’s tooth launch has been viewed more than 1.7 million times. Other methods showcased in online videos: bow-and-arrow, string tied to dog’s collar and, yes, doorknob.
“Don’t follow their instructions,” says Gisela M. Velasquez, an assistant professor of pediatric dentistry at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Dentistry. “You don’t want to traumatize your kid.”
From generation to generation, parents handle child-rearing challenges in ever-evolving ways. One constant is that, beginning around age 5 or 6, baby teeth will fall out and… continue reading
Looking for an orthodontist in Lawrenceville? Contact us today for more information.