A patient’s father recently told me a story of an unfortunate childhood dental situation.

As a boy he said he felt something was off with his teeth. He looked in the mirror. One of his adult teeth was coming in behind a baby tooth. It looked weird.

He was told he had something called: Shark tooth.

When the kids on the block caught wind of this, they sang the famous Jaws the movie theme song “duuuunnnn duun… duuunnnnnnnn dun dun dun dun dun” every chance they got.

Shark teeth, or shark tooth, is something we see fairly often at Adaven Children’s Dentistry and Orthodontics.

Contrary to popular belief (mostly among boys), it doesn’t mean that your child has developed razor-sharp teeth that only the most dangerous predators in the ocean can claim as their own. It’s actually quite normal. 

If your child has shark teeth or a shark tooth, there are a few things to keep in mind. 

No need to panic

Seeing your child’s tooth sprout up in a spot where it shouldn’t can strike fear in parents and kids alike. And when the term “shark” is thrown into the mix, it can make it seem even worse. 

But there’s no reason to panic. In most cases, the baby tooth in front of the adult tooth, or the one in the front row, will start to become loose and in a few days or so it will naturally fall out. As with all loose teeth, encourage your child to wiggle it with their fingers or tongue.

Once the baby tooth comes out, the adult tooth should start to migrate to its natural position. 

See? It’s not as scary as it sounds. 

If you find yourself in troubled waters

While most cases can be resolved with minimal impact to the child, that’s not to say it’s the only outcome that can occur. 

If the front baby tooth doesn’t come loose, your child might have some pain and it’s likely the adult tooth didn’t push the baby tooth out properly. The baby tooth needs to be loose; otherwise, we’ll have to remove it. 

If this occurs, you should call Adaven at 702-492-1955. Depending on the situation, there are several ways we can address the matter and we’ll be happy to discuss it with you as soon as we see the patient.

We would recommend that you not jump to any conclusions with your child about what could happen – he or she is probably a little nervous already. We have faced this situation a lot and we know how to explain it to the child in a way that will help them understand what’s going on and alleviate some of their fears. 

Fortunately, there is a high probability of success when we see “shark teeth” creep up — that is once we sink our teeth into the matter…

For any questions regarding “shark teeth” or anything else dental related, please feel free to call us at 702-492-1955.