Baby teeth are SUPER IMPORTANT to keep until the permanent tooth underneath is fully developed and comes in to replace the baby tooth. These baby teeth hold the space for the permanent tooth to move into and if the baby tooth is lost too soon, this may cause crowding for the adult teeth. Permanent teeth come in from age 5-18. Each tooth needs to be evaluated based on how old the child is, how much longer that tooth is needed, and how deep the decay is. We certainly do not want to leave the decay if we still need the baby tooth and we don’t want the child to be in pain.