Any great ideas on this? My youngest is just fearful about having teeth pulled. He won't wiggle them, so they get loose and they get firm again. Our dentist will take them, but only if I ask him to. It seems when we go to dentist appointments we are in the loose phase and he says oh he will work it out, or it has gotten loose, the new tooth comes in behind it and it is not really loose anymore and he says, oh it will get looser eventually. He doesn't really seem to understand my kid (which is a whole new issue), but we aren't due to go back for another visit for 5 months and we have 2 more loose teeth. I finally "paid" my child to let me pull out one. He could literally bend it back onto the gum, but they don't fall out, they have to be pulled or bumped. He is ever so careful, from fear, this one tooth has been this way for at least 3 weeks. I really thought he would of bit on something by now. This is tooth 5, the first two we literally held him down and pulled them out, long story, but he knocked them falling down and as they were loosening up (again very very loose) we were worried about the teeth under it and again just had to bribe him to let us. For example today, he cried about it for about 30 minutes. I told him if didn't want me to, I wouldn't, but it was more than ready to come out. When I finally found the right price (a ball i bought at the dollar store for a door prize), he said okay, but don't pull hard. When I touched the tooth he went to make a noise, I pinched it and it literally fell out in my hand, it didn't hurt or bleed at all, he is all smiles. The last two were similar. But how do we get through this with every tooth?

Boy am I rambling, but it is so difficult for him to be so fearful (irrational and unproven) over each lost tooth.

So short of paying him each time and him thinking of being tortured, any other great ideas?

Today I sat and talked with him about the last teeth he lost, he doesn't recall any of it, doesn't remember it hurting, etc. But he was still so scared. I talked with him after with the last two also, and he was fine about it, but obviously all the talking in the world hasn't helped at all.

By Dawnk777 on Monday, January 29, 2007 - 05:37 pm:

I have no idea. It wasn't an issue with my kids, and I know it wasn't an issue with me, because I played with my teeth, all the time and usually ended up yanking them out myself, with a kleenex. With my kids, they could usually be patient, until the tooth was only hanging by a thread.

How can he NOT play with his loose teeth? They drove me nuts, when I was a kid.

By Yjja123 on Monday, January 29, 2007 - 05:54 pm:

Wow... my dentist has a fit if teeth are coming in behind baby teeth. He has taken several of my children's teeth. Both of my kids have trouble losing them. I had the same problem. I had 9 baby teeth pulled in junior high. I do not know what to suggest about the fear. My kids will wiggle theirs and push them hard to try to get them to budge. If he doesn't want the dentist to take them, I would encourage him to push them out. Tell him if he doesn't, the dentist will be forced to pull them. If he does it, he has control of the pain. I am not opposed to bribery---terrible I know. but hey--the tooth fairy is about rewards right? LOL

By Cocoabutter on Monday, January 29, 2007 - 05:54 pm:

I would just talk about how getting that baby tooth out will mean how big a boy he is becoming cuz soon he will get a BIG boy tooth! Really talk up the whole "WOW, you're GROWING UP!" thing, and see if that makes him want to get rid of it.