[SKL]

Hello, speaking of sibling body contact . . .

One daughter's head whacked into the other's tooth about a week ago. The tooth bled a little but it didn't seem loose or anything, so I didn't make a big deal out of it. Now for the past couple of days, I've been noticing that the tooth is a little darker than the other teeth. It is still not loose and it doesn't hurt.

If there has been damage to the tooth, is this anything a dentist can reverse, or is it going to be discolored until it's replaced?

Just wondering what my plan of action should be.

Thanks!

[mommytoEli]

my money is on: the tooth is dead and needs to be pulled asap. either way, get to the dentist. same thing happend here. eli was 2, he ran his big ole head into other ds who was nearly 5 at the time. it was loose for a few days, and then seemed to go back to normal....about 2 weeks later it started to grey, by 4 weeks it was GREY. went to the dentist...the tooth had broken up by the root. they weren't sure why it didn't fall out...but his gums were stubborn. lol. they actually had to numb him up and remove it. they x rayed it again, a little piece remains along with the root of the tooth. it will most likely dissolve they say. oh i forgot....when i took him in, bc it had been broken, but still inside, he had an infection and ended up on antibiotics. scary! the dentist said it looked pretty bad and couldn't believe ds wasn't in pain!

[SmileLaughLearn]

I'd suggest getting to the dentist asap. Ds#2 fell and broke his tooth. We called a pediatric dentist that we had never seen before, and he met us at his office on a Sunday night. It had bled from the middle of the tooth, and that was an indicator that there was nerve damage. He did have to pull it right then. He said if we had waited until the next day ds would have to go on antibiotics because of possible (probable?) infection. The dentist was amazed that ds hadn't cried more, because like mommytoeli said, the dentist thought he should be in a lot of pain!

He did an xray and the other teeth looked fine, but at a regular checkup a few months later, another dentist in the practice said we'll have to keep an eye on his other front tooth-- because it may have been damaged and we just can't tell yet. So she said to keep an eye out for discoloration.

Good luck!

[Pipercub]

My friend just *knew* the discolored tooth of her son that appeared after a similar incident had to be dead/would be pulled. The ped dentist said not necessarily. He looked at it and said it could stay in. It took 4 or 5 months for the discolorization to completely go away, but it eventually did. It had bled internally and the dried blood discolored the tooth. (She showed it to me - it looked really bad.) She was shocked when it went back but really happy it did, albiet REALLY slowly. The dentist told her they often pull the teeth, but the discolorization does not necessarily mean dead tooth. Good luck! But DO consult a pediatric dentist; they deal with this alot!

[Pipercub]

Just wanted to add a link to a page with a similar story to what I just shared (discolored does not necessarily = dead):

Berkeley Parents Network: Mishaps to Baby Teeth

[SAVeronika]

At age 2 my son tried to climb on top of a low wall, slipped and broke both of his front teeth. They were chipped and the one bled quite a bit, but looked fine afterwards. About two days later his one tooth started looking brownish and we took him to the dentist. The dentist said there was nerve damage, but since he wasn't in any pain to leave it alone. He still has the tooth, although it is a bit discolored. It'll probably come out on its own when his permanent teeth come in. He's 5 1/2 now, btw. Damage to the tooth doesn't mean it'll have to come out.

[Mary Mulcahy]

My son Ricco has a tooth that has been discoolred since he was 2 (now 5) The dentist advised to watch it. Sometimes they will be fine and other times like Eli mommy stated the tooth has damage. Ricco has numerous dental issues so the Dentist is monitoring him closely. Bring your child in and have it checked out. Ricco's tooth was a baby tooth.
Mary

[mommytoEli]

either way...please take her to the dentist....and then come back and let us know. if they have to pull the tooth...don't worry....little kids with a missing tooth are really adorable. promise!

[wvamom]

I agree with the dentist idea. Our son fell and bumped his tooth about three weeks ago. Two weeks later it started turning gray. We took him to the dentist just to make sure no infection/no damage to the permanent tooth in the gum. The xray looked fine, now the tooth is lightening up a bit. I think it could go either way, but it's worth having it checked out.
Carolyn

[SKL]

Update - the tooth is already starting to get lighter, but we went to the dentist this morning. They took an x-ray and such and everything looks fine. They said let's just watch the tooth and it will probably go back to normal. I asked him to go ahead and look at the other teeth too, as long as we were there. He said everything looks good - a relief, since I expected some issues (as international adoptees often have).

Thanks, everyone, for your advice and experience. I really wasn't ready for my tot to lose a tooth! Already in the next week she will be getting glasses and (with her sister) starting preschool and dance. I don't think I can take any more "growing up" right now!

[Pipercub]

Hurray for a good report!

And I totally hear you about them growing up so fast - I was holding Susanna this morning (she turned 3 in June) and thinking how fast time flies...