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Tooth Troubles
A wobbly tooth is usually a milestone rather than a problem. This page explains what is happening when a baby tooth loosens, and when looseness means something else. It does not assess your child’s tooth.
Baby teeth are designed to come out. As the permanent tooth beneath moves up, the roots of the baby tooth above it resorb — dissolve away — until very little is holding it. The tooth wobbles, then comes out, usually with no help needed.
That is the ordinary version, and it is the one most families are dealing with. The reason this page exists in Tooth Troubles rather than in Growing Smiles is that looseness is not always ordinary, and the two situations look similar from the outside.
A wobbly tooth means a grown-up tooth is on its way. Wiggling it gently with a clean finger is fine. If it hurts, or if it got wobbly because of a bump, tell a grown-up instead.
The distinction that matters is why it is loose. A baby tooth loosening on schedule is development. A tooth that loosened after a knock, or a permanent tooth that is loose at all, is a different matter — and the AAPD treats injuries to teeth as needing both immediate and ongoing management.
There is more than one reason, and they are not equivalent:
If you know the tooth is a baby tooth and nothing happened to it, you are almost certainly in the first case. If you are not sure which case you are in, that uncertainty is itself the reason to ring.
Three things parents ask about most.
For a baby tooth loosening naturally, gentle wiggling with clean hands does no harm and often helps. This does not apply to a tooth that was knocked, or to a permanent tooth — leave those alone and ring your dentist.
A small amount of bleeding as a baby tooth comes out is usual. Bleeding that is heavy or will not settle is not, and belongs with Bleeding after dental trauma or a phone call.
Teeth do not always arrive or leave in a tidy sequence. The AAPD monitors the developing dentition at regular examinations rather than against a fixed schedule. If the pattern worries you, raise it at a checkup.
For an ordinary wobbly baby tooth, usually nothing — it will be noted at the next checkup. Where there is a reason to look more closely, the picture changes.
An ordinary wobbly baby tooth does not need an appointment of its own. Ring if the tooth became loose after a knock, if the loose tooth is a permanent one, if there is pain or swelling, or if it simply does not feel like the usual pattern to you.
You know your child. If something feels different from the last four teeth that wobbled out, that is worth a phone call and nobody will mind.
Should we just pull it out? For a baby tooth that is nearly out on its own, gentle wiggling is usually all that is needed and it will come away when ready. Do not pull a tooth that is firmly attached, a tooth that became loose after an injury, or a permanent tooth. If in doubt, ring rather than pull.
It varies widely and there is no standard answer. The AAPD monitors the developing dentition at regular examinations rather than against fixed timings. If a tooth has been loose for a long time and is bothering your child, mention it.
That is common enough to have its own page. See Shark teeth.
If you mean a permanent tooth, or a baby tooth loosened by an injury, that is a question for your dentist — and the AAPD lists stabilisation and splinting among the interventions used after dental trauma. Contact them rather than waiting to see.
A small amount as the tooth comes away is common. Heavy bleeding, or bleeding that will not settle, is not — contact your dentist, or your local emergency services if you are worried.
Very common, and not a problem in itself for a tooth that is coming out naturally. It will come away in its own time. If an appointment is needed and your child is anxious about it, Helping a nervous child may be useful.
Every clinical statement on this page comes from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry documents below.
This website is for education only and does not replace care from your dentist, physician, or emergency services.