• 3-year-old's tooth was knocked loose - extract it?
• 4-year-old knocked out his two front teeth in a fall
• Our 4-year-old has a graying dead tooth
• More advice about teeth

3-year-old's tooth was knocked loose - extract it?

My three and a half your old son hit his mouth on a metal bench whileplaying about 3 weeks ago. His right front (top) tooth was very loose, and bled a little. We were told over the phone by his pediatrician to just let the gum/tooth heal and it would likely become firm again. It did. Today we went to the dentist, who took an x-ray of the tooth. He said that, although it was now firm, the tooth had been severed below the gumline and needed to be extracted. He has referred us to an oral surgeon in Berkeley (Klein et al). He said they would likely use ''laughing gas'' and little else, although I haven't spoken directly to the surgeon's office yet. I am looking for whatever advice (and words of comfort) anyone can give about this situation. If you have had to get your child's (baby) tooth pulled, how traumatic was it for him/her? What kind of anaesthetic was used? How long did it take to recover? Did you attempt/consider any kind of aesthetic treatment after the extraction (I understand he will not grow a permanent tooth for another 3.5 years)? Any speech problems with a missing front tooth for so long? Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Her teeth remain loose and are a little discolored but we have been able to save them! They turned blackish grey right after the accident but just as Dr. Ed said would happen, they eventually lightened in color to a yellow. He kept a good eye on these teeth over the years. After the inital fall we saw him monthly, I think to be sure she did not develop any infection or abscess. I felt, and he concurred, that we should save the teeth at just about all cost and take all possible precautions in order to do this: no more pacifier, no sippy cup (we immediately transitioned to a cup), cut up all food, no bagels or baguettes (no chewy foods that require you bite into them with front teeth), no hard fruits or vegetables. Everything was cut up and I also taught her how to bite into even soft foods by not using her front teeth. I DID NOT want her to loose those teeth, especially at such a young age. I felt that she may be made fun of or start to feel different without these teeth.

Other people thought that I was crazy since they were baby teeth and she would eventually lose them, (in about 5-6 YEARS!!!). I feel in my heart that we did the right thing. There was always the threat that we may need to have those teeth pulled if infection, abscess or any problems with her permenant teeth started to develop. Thankfully that has not happened and she will lose them right on schedule! A thankful mom

4-year-old knocked out his two front teeth in a fall

My four year old son fell and knocked out two of his front teeth. Does any one have any experience with how kids react to this or how to help them cope? I understand from his dentist that there is not much to worry about in terms of his permanent teeth, I am just worried about other kids teasing him about the way he looks.

Our 4-year-old has a graying dead tooth

help! our not quite 4 year old son fell and apparently killed a baby tooth--we didn't even know, as there was no pain, but a few days ago my husband noticed that the tooth was gray and looked like it was dying. He took our son in to see a children's dentist (highly recommended from the UCB Parents list, I might add) and the dentist said we could either do nothing, remove the tooth to prevent potential damage to the permanent tooth, or a pulpotomy (!) which is like a mini root canal (local anesthesia only). The dentist recommended the latter.

Then we called a second (also highly recommended) children's dentist, who said they never do anything in these situations unless things look worse. has anyone had experience with this sort of situation? thanks! Corliss

Earlier this year, my three-year old son fell and hit one of his front teeth. It turned blue-grey a few days later. The dentist told us that he thought the tooth could be saved, but he gave us an option of having it pulled. We decided to try and save the tooth. The dentist did tell us to watch out for any abcesses that formed around the tooth.

A couple of months later we noticed that an abcess had formed above the tooth. My wife took our son back to the dentist who gave us another choice. He could either drain the abcess or pull the tooth. My wife decided to have the tooth pulled because there was no way of knowing if the abcess might return and she didn't want to subject our son to numerous dentist visits for the purpose of having an abcess drained..

After pulling the tooth, which was a dramatic experience for my son (which is one of the reasons we wanted to avoid it if possible), the dentist discovered that one of the two roots had been broken in the original fall. There was probably no way to avoid pulling the tooth under the circumstances.

I'm glad that we decided to have my son's tooth pulled. However, the drawback has been that his other front tooth has become slightly loose because of the loss of side support.

If your child is not in pain from the tooth, I would try to save it. But keep an eye out for any abcesses that form near it. Robert

Two days later, while jumping up and down in front of a window sill, my son slipped, hit his mouth, and knocked out the other front tooth. Experienced :-\ at this point, I merely called the dentist, told him what happened, and said I would see him at the next (already) scheduled appointment.

That was about two and a half years ago and Sean is still missing his two front teeth. Sean and I have become professionals at the dentist, we go about every six months to check on the status of the surrounding teeth which were "shocked" and one that is "dying"(at Sean's request, he is waiting to get a prosthesis-two fake teeth on a retainer)-and we too, were given the choice of "wait and see" or removing the tooth (I seem to recall it would require some kind of "mini"-root canal). The tooth has turned slightly gray, has not absessed and is not causing Sean any kind of discomfort thus far. It has been loose for about 6 months and still shows no sign of coming out on its' own.

The most important lesson I learned from all of this is - was Sean concerned about his appearance or was I? I remember thinking that we had to get the prosthesis right away so no one would think he had gotten bottle-rot or something...but you know? Sean is not the least concerned about [this aspect] of his appearance, he is most concerned about being able to eat his favorite food - corn on the cob, and that is why, when HE was given the choice of front teeth or no, he opted for teeth. Dorothy