My toddler was standing, playing peekaboo with an adult friend, when she simply fell onto her plastic sippy cup, knocking out one of her front teeth. After the initial bleeding and crying, she seemed/seems fine. She even ate broken hamburger meat last night. I feel awful, of course. What do we do now? Should I take her to the dentist for sure? Do we leave her toothless until her big teeth come in? Has anyone any experience with a cap or prosthetic tooth on a retainer? ( I read somewhere that one mom got one just for photo time). Anyone with this experience, I'd appreciate some advice. Thanks.
Thank you all so much for your advice and reassurances! I truly appreciate it--it has really helped me to feel better about the whole situation. The morning after it happened, I was changing her and I looked at her; in a flash, it came to me--Mommy Instinct at work--the tooth is still in there. We were never able to find it, and today, her lip looked a bit distorted--more than being just a little swollen. I took her to the dentist, and sure enough, her tooth got shoved back up into the gum. The Dr. said it may take a few months to pop out again, and it may be dead when it comes out, but it is there! I guess that is better than losing it, and not even having it to give to the Tooth Fairy! My daughter has always had a lot of character, and now I can see this is just one more way it will be manifested on the outside! Thanks again, everyone!
Leave her toothless and don't put her through any trauma for a fake tooth. My son lost a front tooth on the side of a swimming pool at about 4years old and we just let it be.
It will make her unique with a great story to tell when she is older.
My son fell and lost a front tooth at 17 months old. He just this year at 8 yrs old had his adult tooth come in. It was kinda sad because it was such a part of him all his life to be missing a front tooth. It was never a problem. I was worried about the new tooth being able to break through because the gum was tough from years of no tooth. But it did come in and so far looks good. If the tooth came out whole maybe call the dentist and ask if you should bring her in. It might not be nessesary.
I knocked out both front teeth when I was 3 in a car accident. They put them back in with a double root canal that I still remember to this day. Traumatic and painful, and requiring my mouth to be wired shut along with a liquid diet for weeks while the teeth re-implanted. The reason they did all that was to keep my teeth from dramatically shifting and therefore screwing up my adult teeth. For the record, I ended up needing braces anyway, so it was all for nothing!
I'd ask the dentist if you should do anything, but I'd avoid any painful dental work if you can. Probably she'll be fine!
Thankfully it's only her baby tooth. Yes, take her to a Dentist. Do you have the tooth? Bring it with you if you do. It may be too late, but sometimes they can "put the tooth back".
It happened to my sister several years ago, and it was successful. I'm sure it's an eaier process now-a-days.
Good Luck!
Yes - take her to the dentist. They'll take x-rays to determmine if damage was done to the adult tooth.
Our daughter lost her front tooth when she was 3. She was toothless up front for several years. The adult tooth came in when she turned 7 this year.
When I asked about putting in some sort of fake tooth, they said they could do it, but it was incredibly difficult and that they often break. I was really only concerned that she would start to say some letters incorrectly and in that case I probably would have pushed for a prosthetic. However, she just learned how to say all her letters w/out the front tooth. The only other reason to put a fake one in was for pictures and the sort and as it turns out, she didn't really need that. Having no tooth was just part of her look and it was okay. Other kids didn't really notice and if they did it wasn't a big deal.
Poor girl. It's no fun to lose a tooth prematurely.
Yes, just take her in and have it checked. It will help you feel better and the dentist will have it in her records. At the very least you should call. Good luck!
So sorry to hear that. Definitely take her to the dentist today. My daughter lost one of her front teeth a few months ago and the dentist wanted to see her immediately to take an x-ray and make sure the entire tooth came out. If there's any piece remaining, it may get infected or cause problems with her other teeth. The dentist will also check the teeth and discuss your options with you. Since my daughter was only 20 months, we didn't discuss prosthetic options, except that there are some available once she's about 3. Good luck!
At 4 years old our daughter tripped on her blankie and fell face first onto the kitchen floor succesfully knocking out both front teeth. We took her straight to the dentist. It was important to have xrays to check for broken jaw or facial bones. She was fine by the evening and even ate cantqaloupe off the rind with no problem. We enjoyed the few years with missing teeth in photos because that is what she looked like and did keep an eye on her for speach problems and space for permenent teeth which all turned out fine. But, a few years later when her new teeth came in one of them was "lumpy" and deformed. We don't know if it would have been this way or if the trauma to her mouth caused it but with a good dentist she had a root canal and cap put in to match the other front tooth. Later when she was grown the tooth needed to be replaced to match size and color and now at 25 years old she has 2 very nice looking front teeth. I would suggest a trip to the dentist to make sure she didnt do more damage and to get her started with good dental health. As for your toothless photos, cherish them and keep telling her how cute she is no matter what. (o:
You should take her to the dentist to have xrays done and see if any damage was done to the adult tooth. My daughter knocked hers out plkaying with the turnstile at the store. All was fine but we did go to the dentist.
my son had the same problem. you should go the dentist. any damage that may have occured you maynot be able to see. the baby tooth may be damage,which is okay for now. however, the tooth underneith may have damage as well. tooth death can occure. yes tooth death, which is when some type of trama has occured to the teeth/nerves. the tooth dies then turns a funny dark, dingy color. however, if it's not the permanent tooth it should be okay. better safe than sorry!
i would take her to the dentist just to make sure everything is ok and not some extensive bruising or issues later as you can never be too cautious.
I would definitely take her to see a dentist. Did this happen last night? I would go as soon as possible. Sometimes a dentist will ask you to bring in the missing teeth as it might be possible to put them back in place, but I'm not sure how quickly action needs to be taken. If nothing else, a dentist will be able to rule out greater injury. Good luck.
It is a baby tooth, so don't worry about it! Call her ped and let them know, and as long as she doesn't seem in pain, she should be just fine.
Kids prematurely knock out their teeth accidentally all the time, and general, doctors and pediodontists don't do anything about it as any procedure that would "put back" the tooth would be far more traumatic than just waiting for the adult tooth to come in. Plus, people will ask her ALL the time if she lost a tooth, and she has a fun story to tell them! I don't see why you would want to prosthetic tooth (and you cannot cap a tooth that doesn't exist) - is it REALLY that important to you, to put her through all of that dental work just for a tooth that will grow in within 3 years.
No one is going to make fun of her for prematurely knocking out a tooth. , so just let it go and consider any pictures taken with the missing tooth warranting a recount of a cute story.
This happend to my husband when he was little. They can him fake teeth and as far as my husband is concerned it was fine, He does not remeber anything about other than it happened. Go to teh dentist and see what they say.
Hi A.,
2 weeks before my son was going to turn 3, he fell and cracked his front tooth in 2 places. I called our dentist, whom he had had his first dentist appt 1 week prior. He told me to bring him in the next morning. He confirmed my fears, the tooth had to be pulled. Right before the extraction, which went well, they explained our options. We could leave as is or we could put a temporary tooth in there. The temporary tooth was not cheap, but that's not what made us decide not to get it. The fact that he would not be able to bite apples or carrots, which were both his favorites at the time. There were other minor limitations, but that sealed the deal for us. The dentist told us he would have no problems with the permanent tooth coming in as it should. Now due to turn 7 in August, his permanent tooth is halfway in and he is excited. It's a little sad for me because it's just one more indicator that's he's growing up. We had almost 5 years of him missing a tooth, but it just suited him and he was never bothered by not having it. By the way, our pediatric dentist was great. He was given a letter for the tooth fairy explaining why he lost a tooth so early and a little container to put under he pillow. When the tooth was gone, my son did ask for it back so that I could put it back in, but other than that one day, he continued to share his bright smile. Your daughter will be just fine, but you definitely want to get to the dentist.
My daughter fell and had to have her front tooth extracted at about 17 months. She stayed toothless until she was 3 years old. She knew she was missing a tooth because the other kids at preschool asked her about it... she became self concious about it. At 3 the dentist put in a fake tooth with a permanent retainer... it is wonderful... no surgery needed and looks great. She is so proud of it!!! I recommend doing something of the same.
Dear A.,
My little daughter got an infection in her sinuses and upper front gums. The doctor and pediatric dental specialist advised pulling her front teeth. It was horrible to go through, but everything cleared up after that. Anyway, she did just fine and her grown up teeth came in just fine. I would take your daughter to have her checked out. My daughter did not require a retainer or anything, but she was a bit older. It might be rough trying to get a little one to have a retainer of some sort that they will keep in and not swallow or heaven knows what else. It wouldn't hurt to have her evaluated. I also know from personal experience that if a permanent tooth gets knocked out, sometimes they can re-implant it, but you have to get attention for it right away.
Best of wishes. Your little girl will be without a tooth in that spot until about the age of 6 or so.
Take care!
Hi A.,
Same thing happend to my girl when she was around 4. We took her to the dentist and they put a "fake" tooth. I think it best since her permanent teeth won't come in until around age 7. I don't think you want a gap in her smile that long. My girl did fine with the fake tooth and this was 15+ years ago. I have many precious photos of her with her silver tooth which was a much better alternative to a gap. My daughter was definitely thankful we did. Good luck.
Hi there!
I am a 27 year old pregnant lady (first one) : - ) And I wanted to tell you that I knocked my 2 front teeth out when I was only 3 years old while playing on the concrete patio... and I don't remember much except that I never got fake teeth or anything crazy like that. I think it gave me character and something to talk about later in life. Probably want to go to the dentist just to make sure that nothing else is broken, but I wouldn't worry about it! Live and learn is my motto!
Hi There,
Please take your daughter to Pediadontist(children's dentist) as it is important to see if she has damaged any nerves etc. It is important to have Primary teeth stay until secoondary teeth come in,so if your daughter does not have hers the others may come in crooked or worse.
Hope this helps.
Take her to the dentist. I don't know what they will do but I think they'll give you options and pros and cons too.
Bring your child to a pediatric dds asap. They may need to put a space maintainer to help the other teeth from moving. It will also save the space for the perm front teeth to grow into the correct position. I am a dental hygienist with almost 20 years of experience. Good luck!
L.
You really should go see the dentist right away when a tooth is knocked loose or out and probably should still see the dentist just to ensure that everything is okay in her mouth.
The dentist will also let you know what your options are for her and how much it will cost if you decide to have a bridge or whatever made up. She will not be getting her adult teeth until 5-6 years old, so it is really up to you to decide if you mind the gap or not.
my daughter damaged her two front teeth at gymnastics. but my kid was really in pain. we were worried she had broken her upper jaw.
i would take her to the dentist, have them do x-rays. since she is not in pain there isn't much they are going to do for her... she will be toothless for a while. it doesn't make the other adult teeth come in. in fact it may take longer because there isn't a tooth there to guide it.
we took our daughter to the er, and aside from giving us drugs to give to her, they said to go to the dentist, because the ER didn't have the proper radiology equipment to take a small childs xray of the face. and the said it was unnecessary radiation. but she appeared to not hurt as much at that point.
i guess you will starting the tooth fairy early!
i would say just make a lot of jokes and let her enjoy being part of family entertainment so that it is fun and not traumatic. if you make a deal about her looks rather than her beingness it may effect her to be looks versus heart based later.
blessings,
A.
Hi A.,
My name is K.. I am the mother of a 16 year old and an 8 year old. When my 16 year old was about 3 he fell at the babysitter on one of those plastic cubes that you can go in and climb up to the second level etc. He knocked out both of his front teeth. We took him to the dentist and he told us to just leave it alone until his adult teeth came it. We did that and at 16 he has no problems with his teeth. My dad worried that he would feel insecure because his teeth were different, but that has not been the case. He is one of the most secure kids I know. I recently asked him if he remembered this. He told me he didn't remember loosing his teeth but he did remember when he got his new teeth. I asked him if it bothered him and he told me no.
Don't worry your child will be fine. The teeth will grow back in a few years and it will be nothing but a memory.
Take Care
K.
