Loose Tooth

Last night before dinner my 5 year old says "Mommy...Daddy...I think I have a loose tooth!"  My immediate reaction was that there was no way she had a loose tooth.  I'm not sure why I immediately jumped to that conclusion.  She's at the age where kids first begin to loose their teeth.  It probably has to do with her age when her first tooth appeared.  According to various web sources, and doctors, the age range at which babies first get teeth is wide, but on average it is about 6 months.  It can take as long as 18 months.  My daughter was on the 18 month side.  There was a point where I was a bit worried that something was wrong.  But then the first arrived.  I guess with her being very late on getting teeth I assumed she would be a bit older when she lost her first tooth.  Apparently not.

I need to do a bit of research on teeth, but now's a great opportunity to teach my daughter about adult teeth. She already knows the importance of taking care of teeth and brushing them properly.  When this first tooth officially falls out, she may have some questions on why it looks the way it does.  As the parent, I need to prepare myself with answers to her questions.  I also need to prep myself on the going rate of teeth these days.  What's the tooth fairy giving out now?  I think I ended up with quarter or two when I was a kid, but inflation has probably raised that.  But then again, the value of the dollar has decreased.  :-)