My daughter fell flat on her face this evening... Split open her lip on the inside, in an inverted "L" shape. Her front teeth can fit into the gash. However it has stopped bleeding. My husband says she's doesn't need stitches... and I verified that on the web (the gash doesn't exceed the lip line and isn't through the whole lip). However, does anyone know if this kind of injury heals well? Does it leave a permanent fat lip?
Thanks for the optimistic & comforting words everyone! After a rather rough night (her tylonal wore off at 1am...) the paranoid mama in me took her to the doctor this morning, just to make sure there wasn't anything more serious that needed attention. He said her lip is looking good (considering!), told me how to clean it, etc. However he mentioned there is a possibility that she might lose 1 or both front teeth (there was evidence of trauma to the base of each tooth; bright pink rim around the gum line and tooth). I'll have to watch them over the next few weeks. I hadn't even considered the idea of her losing teeth several weeks from now, except to check immediately afterward to see if they were chipped or loose... I know, I know, they are only her baby teeth but the thought of her losing them now is distressing. I'm trying not to focus on that and am keeping my fingers crossed... And telling myself to be thankful it wasn't any worse!
I've always been told that the inside of the mouth heals quickly...I would put money on the fact that it will be healed inside of a week. I would, however, suggest that she keeps good oral hygiene, i.e, brushing, antiseptic wash, etc. As they say, people have dirty mouths!!!
Margaret :)
Feed him some freezer pops to get the swelling down, and make sure he keep his hands and other object out of his mouth. You don't germs in there!
my 2 yr old did pretty much the same thing when she was about 1...fell of a small step onto the driveway =( her lip healed up so fast, i think it might have taken a couple days...little kids heal pretty quickly. if the lip is still swollen, try getting him to suck on some crushed ice or a popsicle and make sure you don't give him anything spicy to eat (even mustard) because it can sting an open sore in the mouth!
My niece did the same thing at about 16 months. It healed fine. I was scared out of my mind when it happened, but she forgot about later that day, and you couldn't even tell anything had happened about a week later. We just put ice on it for the swelling, which also helped stopped the bleeding.
OUCH! My son did the same thing at about 14 months old. Fell flat on his face with his Binky in his mouth. Cut his lip and tore the frenulum (sp) between the gum and lip. Bled like a gusher as do most boo boo's from the neck up!!!!! But it did heal rather quickly. The fat lip will be a fat lip for a few days......natural process just like when you injury any other part of your body.
