Toddler and Kid’s Tooth Extraction: Healing Process, Food List, and Recovery

I didn’t do anything wrong caring for my daughter’s teeth. I brushed and flossed her teeth regularly. She didn’t sleep with a bottle. She was transitioned to a sippy cup before she was even 2. Yet, unlike her three brothers who had and have healthy teeth, she had severe decay and cavities in her baby front teeth by the time she was 3. It resembled baby bottle tooth decay.

Working with her dentist, we tried to reverse the damage—mineral-fluoride paste (MI Paste), diet changes, even xylitol, but they kept getting worse anyway. When the first tooth chipped, I felt horrible knowing they would probably have to be pulled.

Unfortunately, I was right. She had to have all four of her top front teeth extracted. After her procedure, I was surprised to find how little information was floating about online on the healing process and tooth extraction recovery in kids. I decided to build this page as a result.

Toddler tooth extraction healing process:

Thankfully, a fair amount of extractions in kids are baby teeth. The tooth extraction healing process after the removal of a baby tooth is faster than it is for adult teeth, because the wound is smaller.

The first 24 hours:

Immediately after removal, a clot will begin to form in the empty socket.

Your dentist may have also packed the wound with gelfoam. This is often used because children aren’t the greatest about biting down on gauze the way an adult would, but it serves the same purpose—to absorb and slow initial bleeding.

Gelfoam is white in color, so if you look in your child’s mouth and it almost looks like you can see bone or the remainder of a tooth in the socket, this is what you’re actually seeing. The image below is an example of this. It frequently falls out within a day. In fact, your child may even spit it out shortly after the procedure.

toddler tooth extraction gelfoam

Once the gelfoam is gone, the extraction wound will just look like a hole in your child’s gum. It may continue to weep blood lightly in the first 24 hours. For instance, you may see a little blood on your child’s pillow when they wake up. However, for the most part, the bleeding will stop within a few hours of the procedure.

Common complaints the first 24 hours after tooth extraction in kids:

Beyond bleeding the most common complaints that kids or parents have during tooth extraction recovery in the first 24 hours are:
(expressed as a percent of kids that experienced each in the first 24 hours)
-Inability to eat: 12 percent
-Less active: 72 percent
-Sleepiness: 71 percent
-Pain: 48 percent
-Sore throat: 35 percent
-Vomiting or nausea: 26 percent
-Behavior changes: 24 percent
-Fever: 21 percent
-Cough: 12 percent

Some of these issues are likely a result of the procedure itself rather than the tooth removal, such as sore throat and cough. All of the above are considered normal and not cause for concern with the exception of bleeding that is heavy and fevers that are over 101 F. In either of those cases, you should contact your provider.

Things to avoid in the first 24 hours:

While a clot is establishing in your child’s wound, you should do your best to help them avoid:

-Straw or non-spill sippy cup use (the cups with a valve that require suction)
-Touching the wound with fingers or tongue (this one can be difficult)
-Brushing close to the extraction site
-Vigorous activity

Within a three days after a kid’s tooth extraction:

Mouth wounds heal very quickly. As early as 12 hours after the extraction you may notice the gum tissue is beginning to heal. By day three most parents can see a clear difference in the size of the wound site (the “hole” is smaller). Typical complaints (mentioned above) also begin to decrease.

Once again, expressed by percent of children experiencing each (on day 3 in this case):

-Inability to eat: 12 percent
-Less active: 20 percent
-Sleepiness: This side effect should be gone.
-Pain: 17 percent
-Sore throat: 8 percent
-Vomiting or nausea: 1 percent
-Behavior changes: 3 percent
-Fever: 2 percent
-Cough: 4 percent

Within two weeks after a kid’s tooth extraction:

In most cases by day 14 or so, the gum holes have sealed over completely, though occasionally this can take up to a month. A longer time frame is more common in molars and older children (with larger teeth).

You’ll still see an indention of sorts in the gum where the tooth was as bone hasn’t yet mineralized in the socket. This indentation will become less noticeable as time passes with significant bone formation being complete within 6 to 8 weeks.

What to feed kids after a tooth extraction?

Having covered the tooth extraction recovery time and process, your next question might be what your child can eat after tooth extraction.

You want to stick to soft, non-acidic foods that are unlikely to get stuck in the extraction wound. If the extraction was a front tooth, you also want to cut foods small so that your child can easily chew (or more like mush in this case) them with their back teeth only. You’ll find a list of ideas below.

Side note, if you can, try to get your child to swish some water after meals as well. In the case of toddlers, offering water to drink may be the best you can do there.

Some great foods for after tooth extraction include:

-Ice cream, milkshakes, or popsicles
-Fruit smoothies
-Yogurt or cottage cheese
-Jello or pudding
-Apple sauce
-Mashed potatoes
-Steam vegetables with or without cheese sauce (not al dente, arguably overdone and mushy)
-Boiled vegetables or canned soft options such as peas
-Oatmeal or porridge
-Chicken or beef vegetable soup (do not use a tomato base, mince ingredients small)
-White-sauced pasta with small noodles and meat cut into small pieces
-Macaroni and cheese
-Scrambled eggs
-Bananas
-Berries (strawberries may need cut small)
-Baked beans
-Meatloaf (cut in small pieces)

Once the extraction holes have mostly closed, rice and softer baked goods are also OK, such as bread (without a crispy crust) and soft-top cookies. With front-teeth extractions, again you may still have to cut these into small enough pieces your child doesn’t have to bite chunks off so to speak. This can make things like peanut butter and jelly or tuna sandwich squares, waffles, or pancakes an option (things most kids are a fan of).

When will my child’s tooth or teeth grow back after an extraction?

Finally, at least in my case, I was really wondering when my daughter’s front teeth would grow back in. Obviously, this question only relates to baby teeth, as permanent teeth don’t grow back.

Many of the online eruption charts for permanent teeth such as the one shown below are giving an average range. You may find that your child falls outside of this. For instance, my first son got his first front permanent tooth at 5 years old, while most charts state this happens at age 6 to 7. Teeth eruption patterns are largely genetic and vary from child to child.

However, a study published in the Journal of Dental Research in 2015 did find that permanent tooth eruption was tied to baby teeth eruption. So, if your child was an early teether, they may likewise get their permanent teeth faster. The same holds true for late teethers. Girls also tend to erupt teeth earlier than boys.

child tooth eruption chart

Xylitol for Toddler Teeth: Best Dental Routine Additions

The effects of Xylitol, a natural sweetener often made from birch bark, on oral health are well documented. A mere 6 to 10 grams daily is enough to reduce bacteria levels, hinder plaque formation, help prevent cavities, and even aid in remineralization of existing damage. Even better, it poses no health risk beyond the chance of digestive upset with heavy use. It’s pretty awesome stuff. For older kids and adults, adding Xylitol to a dental routine is pretty easy too. It’s widely available in chewing gum and mints. What about toddlers, though? Nearly 30 percent of all children under 5 have dental caries (another term for cavities), yet for some reason there are no over-the-counter Xylitol products beyond toothpaste aimed at toddler use. Unfortunately, the issue with Xylitol toothpaste is it would be very difficult to get the recommended dosage in kids (a minimum of 6 g) using this method at .3 g or so per brushing.

Ideal Characteristics of Xylitol for Toddlers:

The first step I took in trying to find the best way to give a toddler Xylitol was to make a list of what would classify a source as “good.”

-Easy and fast to consume
For Xylitol to be effective for dental health it has to actually stay in your child’s mouth for more than 2 seconds. Xylitol is also highly toxic to dogs, so if you have fur-babies as well, you don’t want Xylitol options laying around the house. You want something that comes in flavors your toddler will like that is consumed quickly, but likewise isn’t a huge chore for you.

-Has a relatively high Xylitol dosage per serving

On that easy-for-you note, most of us parents have enough to worry about without trying to remember to give 16 some-odd doses of Xylitol a day. This would mean you’d want a Xylitol product with at least around 2 to 4 g per serving making for just 2 to 3 times a day.

-Won’t break the bank.

In my book, if something is going to become a daily, long term part of our family’s routine, it needs to be budget friendly.

Xylitol options for toddlers and their content levels:

While they may not be aimed at use in toddlers in particular, there are a wealth of options as far as Xyltiol products. This is because in addition to being great for dental health, it also causes very little glycemic response and has about one third the calories of table sugar making it a popular choice for diabetics and dieters.

xylitol for toddler teeth dental chart

Granular:

Often found either by the table sugar or in the health/organics section, granulated Xylitol looks just like regular sugar and has a similar taste. Given that, it can be used anywhere regular sugar would be. Keep in mind though that it is sweeter than regular sugar, so adjust down. Additionally, more than 45 g in children or 100 g in adults per day can cause intestinal upset (diarrhea is common). 1 tablespoon equates to about 4 grams, so it can add up quickly. Xylitol in this form is fairly affordable (about 3x the price of regular sugar in your area).

At first thought granular Xylitol seems a great choice for toddlers as far as dosage size, but there’s the issue that in most formats (such as used in baking or mixed into juice) it wouldn’t sit in the mouth long and dosage could vary (unfinished drinks anyone?)

Gum:

The reason Xylitol gum is such a popular method of adding Xylitol to a dental routine is that it stays in the mouth longer than most other choices, despite a relatively low dosage (you’d need 6-10 sticks a day to get there). Gum is a poor choice for most toddlers not just because of that high frequency requirement, but because most toddlers quickly swallow or spit gum and may even choke.

Mints:

Also popular with adults and also requiring many uses (6 to 20!), the flavor of Xylitol mints is often not well received by toddlers. They do make fruit-mint combos, but the mint flavor remains, because, well, it’s a mint.

Suckers:

Clearly aimed at kids, Xylitol suckers are another choice that sound good in theory, but fall short with more consideration. First, at .5 to 1 g per sucker depending on brand, you’d need at least 6 a day to hit the recommended dosage. Second, the sticks. As a parent, if you’ve done suckers with any regularity you know you find those stupid sticks all over, often with unfinished sucker attached. They may also pose a choking hazard depending on the kid, and at, on average, about .25 each, can get expensive.

Hard candy:

Ditches the stick but poses the same issues as a sucker minus that.

Soft candy:

Most of these are sort of like saltwater taffy or caramel, and would be fine for toddlers, though you would need about 6 per day.  It’s also important to pay attention to other ingredients. Try to avoid candies with other added sugars or where Xylitol is not high on the ingredient list (as grams per serving may vary by brand). Price wise on average you’re looking at around .25 to .50 per candy ($1.50 to $3.00 per day), less the more in bulk you purchase. Depending on age, they may also pose a choking hazard.

Pebble candy:

I deem them pebble candy, because that seemed a fair description. These are about half the size of a tic-tac and have a similar texture. About 10 of these pebbles is 2.3 g of Xylitol with a serving cost of about .15 each (.45 a day). Being small and easily chewed, they work fine for toddlers, and even come in a range of flavors.

Ice chips:

These aren’t literal ice, they’re chips of flavored solidified xylitol chunks. They start off hard and sort of crunchy, but dissolve pretty quickly too.  They make a great choice for toddlers, though the varying sizes of candy can make it hard to get a precise dosage. The average piece is 1 g, with the packaging suggesting 2 chips per serving making for a minimum of 3 servings a day. Price wise, these run .10 to .15 per serving or .30 to .45 per day.

Gummy bears:

These are arguably something made for toddlers and have a decent dosage at 1.5 g per bear. The problem is that you will be hard pressed to find Xylitol gummy bears that don’t also contain other sweeteners. The most common is Maltitol, which for many folks causes watery bowel movements. Some people also tolerate them just fine in moderation, and at about $10 per 1 lb bag (.10 per serving or .30 a day) they certainly are an affordable option, so may be worth a test run.

Jam/honey/syrup:

While obviously mixed with natural sugars, these are options most toddlers will consume. The only downside beyond that would be that none of the above are something that’s chewed or sits in the mouth long. Purchased from the store, all three are also relatively expensive. Xylitol jam is .40 or so per serving,  Xylitol honey .43, and Xylitol syrup .55. Each would require two servings daily. At least in the case of jam, you may be able to make your own and cut costs a bit with granular Xylitol and fresh fruit.

Toothpaste/gels/wipes

While wipes are an easy way to cleanse baby gums, toothpastes, gels, and wipes are all an inefficient way to add Xylitol to a toddler’s diet. This is because, as mentioned, even high-percentage options would contain about .3 g per use. You would have to brush your toddler’s teeth 20 times a day to make the minimum recommendation. Often priced at around $1 to $2 an ounce, Xylitol toothpaste is also double to triple the price of your typical toddler paste.

Oral rinse:

At 1 g per tsp (a standard rinse cap holds roughly 2 tablespoons which is ~6 tsp or 6g Xylitol) oral rinses are a great option for older kids, but most toddlers likely won’t get the concept of swish and rinse, and oral rinses are not designed to be swallowed consistently. Xylitol rinses are also, again, fairly spendy at .50 to .80 per ounce (2 tablespoons) as compared to your standard mouth wash which runs closer to .25 per ounce.

So, TLDR, what’s the best way to add Xylitol to a toddler’s dental routine?

Based on price and ease of use, your top options would be Xylitol gummy bears (watch for adverse effects), ice chips, or pebble candies.

Toddler Hates Hair Washing? Tips and Tricks for a Tear-free Fix

From the sounds that used to emanate from my house at bath time, you’d think I bathed my daughter in acid. Seriously, I didn’t know if she was the wicked witch incarnate or what, but the kid hated having her hair washed, her head wet, water in the general vicinity of her upper body period. Solely because it got on her face. I suppose that wouldn’t be a problem if we lived in a post-apocalyptic world where water was scarce. Then everyone would be the “stinky kid,” but as that’s not the case, something had to be done, and from the past tense in my first sentence, I bet you gathered something was. We brainstormed tips for kids who don’t like water in their faces, and you can try them too.

Choose your tool:

Many kids dislike the sensation of being dipped back into the water for hair washing. You can experiment with using either a pitcher with water or a long-hose sprayer shower head like this one.

If you’re already using one or the other, sometimes switching can be an easy solution. Some kids find the sprayers scary. Others think they’re cool. Like most parenting choices, it really depends on the kid.

You can also try using just an overly wet wash cloth to wet hair, but it doesn’t help much with rinsing. This does seem a good time to throw in that kid hair doesn’t actually need washed as much as an adult or as much as a kid-body needs washed even. I found the no-poo approach works great, and I could get away with just getting my daughters hair wet (unless she had something like spaghetti in it) most baths. I wash my kid’s hair with soap about once a month (I have 3 boys and the wee lass).

Gear up:

Next, methods of keeping the water off your kiddos face are often the most effective step you can take as sadly a lot of kids aren’t cooperative enough to just “look up” so the water runs down their back. A few ideas include:

-a washcloth your child can hold over their face as a “force field.”
swim googles (you can even get some complete with snorkel).
-one of these ridiculous but likewise useful shower visors
-one of these less-ridiculous looking splash guards
shower visor bath cry

Make baths fun:

Anything you can do to make bath time more fun often helps sell the hair washing part. Bubbles and toys make a good beginning, but you can take it a step further with things such as:

-A special song you sing when washing hair. It doesn’t have to be complicated, Daniel Tiger does it all the time.
-Cool hair washing sound effects “wooooooosh goes the water,” “bubbley, bubbley goes the soap,” etc.
Puppet friends that come help wash hair.
-A shatter-proof bath mirror (preferably curiously positioned so your kid has to look up a bit) so they can watch what’s going on.
-If you co-bath, let them wash your hair first (plus you get to test that tear-free soap, right?)
-Let them pick out their own character shampoo (choose a conditioner combo if you have tangles, and skip that second rinse).

Prep before wash:

I’ve also been told that swim lessons can help tremendously as far as helping kids see water on your face can be fun. Things like water balloons, sprinklers, etc, run this same logic, and bonus, it’s like an outdoor bath.

Finally, books, songs, movies that involve hair washing or water fun can help. For example, if you can sell your daughter on being a mermaid and explain mermaids have to get their hair wet—win—plus great excuse to watch The Little Mermaid.

If all above fails, well momma (or papa), make it quick as possible and invest in ear plugs. This too will pass.