My 6 year old fell off the bed on sunday and her front top 4 teeth moved way back... took her to the dentist and they moved them back to where they should be but as I was attempting to brush her teeth noticed that the front two were extremely loose.... called the dentist they said this is normal and it would take awhile for them to "tighten" up...How Long is awhile? In the end are they only going to come out due to the fall?
help
over worried mom
They should be fine L.. Like the other mom's said they should tighten back up in a few weeks. Hope you know who is doing well!
My nephew fell down the stairs when he was 5 or 6. His 4 front teeth got loose. 2 of them were permanent teeth. They thought he was going to lose them but they did tighten up. I think it took a couple of months at least for them not to feel loose at all. Just take care what kind of foods she eats. My nephew had to get checked by the dentist once a week because it was so bad.
I asked about this once about a year ago because I am always afraid one of my kids will do something to cause loose teeth. The denstist told me that even though adult/permanent teeth can end up loose from injury, unless the tooth is damaged, the root is so deep it should not be a problem and they recommend being careful how you eat.
teeth are held in by ligaments (just like what holds your joints together) and your daughter stretched those ligaments out when she fell. Give them a couple weeks and they will tighten up. In the mean time, tell her to be gentle with them, not to bite anything too hard or wiggle them on purpose or push on them. Eventually they will come out (I'm assuming you're talking baby teeth here) but that shouldn't happen until her adult teeth start to push them out. The good news is that if they *do* come out due to the fall, they're not her perminant ones. If they turn dark colored or don't tighten up in a couple weeks I'd go back to the dentist. My son took a big chunk out of one of his teeth when he was younger and I remember that feeling of worry you're describing!
Hi L....my son had an experience when he was 6...he had a freestanding swingset (one of those porch swings) tip over and a 4x4 hit his face...it knocked out his front 2 teeth (still attached to each other) and he had one pulled in the ER and one more pulled by an oral surgeon a few weeks later. The dentists did tell us that the muscles would tighten up around any that we did NOT have to pull, but our concern was his permanent teeth (these were all baby teeth.) Obviously, this was pretty traumatic and did do some damage and as his adult teeth started coming in, they were undamaged, but not coming in at the right spots...he has one pushed way back and in the roof of his mouth (he's 9 now)...sooo, he needs braces at some point and who knows what else...we are due to see the orthodontist again soon ( for the 4th time.) I would just say that since your daughters teeth weren't actually knocked out, just keep an eye on them, but they will probably be ok. Just keep an eye on the adult ones when they come in, but I'm sure all will be fine...positive thoughts!!! Good luck!
It will take a week or two but they should tighten up. In the meantime, she should eat softer foods and stay away from chewy / gummy candy. I'm guessing these are baby teeth. if the dentist checked her over, I'm sure they are fine. They may darken though and, just because they darken doesn't mean there is any damage to the permanent teeth. Doesn't mean they will fall out any quicker either.
Good luck.
My son did the same he fell and his front teeth were horizontal instead of vertical....within a couple days they straightened up and after a couple weeks they had tightened up again. Our dentist took xrays just to be sure he had not injured the permanent teeth and jaw were not damaged. Fortunately they were his babay teeth. A second fall did result in loosing one and he had a toothless grin for almost a year until the adult tooth came down.
All is well with his teeth except for falling agaion and chipping them and the need for expanders to make room far all his BIG teeth, but none of that is related to orginal injury.
Hi L. if those were baby teeth, they were probably going to fall out anyway and grow back. but if they're her second set of teeth than just keep an eye on them and if they don't tighten up take her back to the dentist.
Last summer Elise fell in the garage. She was a month shy of 6. Her tooth got loose instantly. But it was barely wiggly a month later, wiggled but not much cause only she could tell. It took a year but it fell out finally last week. Since she is 6, and they are her baby teeth, she won't even have an issue if they all fall out next month. Really. They may have pushed her adult teeth up a bit, but I doubt it. If it did then it may take longer to get the adult teeth in. But front teeth take forever anyway, like 5 months of cute holes in the mouth.
I do not know if these are her baby teeth, or her permanent teeth since she is right at the age where they could be either. If they are baby teeth, do not worry too much, they are getting ready to be replaced by permanent teeth anyway. If they are permanent teeth, I would take her to a pediatric dentist for a second opinion. Also, if you notice any bump or blister-like thing above the tooth, take her to the dentist as soon as posible (sometimes teeth die after a trauma like that and need root canals).
