My Child Has Shark Teeth?

Many parents become alarmed when they look in their child's mouth and see the permanent teeth growing behind the baby teeth. What went wrong? Aren't the permanent teeth supposed to grow under the baby teeth and push them out? While shark teeth sound scary, it really looks worse than it is. When permanent teeth grow behind baby teeth, instead of pushing them up and out, this is known as shark teeth.

Shark teeth is actually a fairly common occurrence, and generally happens in the front teeth. They can happen in the molars and incisors, although this is fairly rare. Needless to say, this occurs when a child is losing his or her teeth, generally around age 6.

How Shark Teeth Occur
There are a few guesses as to why shark teeth occur. Some dentists believe that this occurs because the roots of the baby teeth don't get dissolved like they normally should and the permanent teeth have nowhere else to go, so they just come into the mouth where there is the least amount of resistance. Some dentists say that the permanent teeth start growing in behind the baby teeth because there is too much crowding in the lower jaw. Another theory says that because the permanent teeth develop behind the baby teeth, this is simply a slight deviation from normal and they just didn't make it as far forward as they should have. I think that all of these are good explanations as to why this phenomenon occurs. I personally think that all three are possible explanations and any of them might be true for a specific individual.

Treating Shark Teeth
As long as your child's other teeth looked okay, your child will probably be asked by the dentist to wiggle the affected baby tooth to try and get it to come out on its own. If after three weeks the tooth is still hanging on, then it will probably be up to the dentist to take care of it.

Sometimes a stubborn baby tooth needs to be removed professionally by a dentist. With the baby teeth out of the way, the permanent teeth has a chance to move into its correct position. This occurs naturally as the child talks, eats, and plays with the new tooth with his or her tongue.

If it appears that the emerging secondary tooth won't have enough room to develop normally even if the baby tooth is removed, the dentist may decide to slim down neighboring baby teeth with a simple procedure called disking, to make sufficient room. In addition, other baby teeth may be removed to make room for the secondary teeth as well.

Pediatric shark teeth are a normal, treatable condition in children and a consult with a dentist can tell you if any intervention is necessary. Many shark teeth resolve on their own, leaving the child with a beautiful smile and a small prize for the tooth fairy.