3 yr old had tripped over now tooth going black.......

[GoingQuietlyMad]

three weeks ago, dd1 tripped over in b&q on the concrete floor and knocked her tooth. it looked pretty bad and bled a little but we thought it was okay as it wasn't wobbly. for some reason because she calmed down and seemed okay we didn't get it checked out by anyone at the time.

now it is going black. i am taking her to the dentist today (first time...).

feel so horrible about it all, like i haven't looked after her properly, and now i don't know what is in store for her.

has this happened to anyone else and what happened afterwards?

[fairyfly]

When you knock a tooth it goes discoloured but can be perfectly healthy. When my son was two he fell on the bath, his tooth at 7 has stayed discoloured but is perfectly fine and the dentist knew it was a knock and wasn't concerned, I am just waiting for it to fall out as it doesn't look that nice!

[GoingQuietlyMad]

gosh, thank you so much for your quick reply fairyfly. i am so worried about it, so this is v reassuring.

[TwigTwoolett]

Sometimes if the tooth has died they consider removal is best

DO NOT WORRY .. it is only a milk tooth .. and kids look very cute with gaps

I know you're nervous but you need to steel yourself to take a small child to the dentist and do your best to make it a fun trip ... it is very easy to pass on vibes of concern without meaning to

good luck

[fairyfly]

I wouldn't worry that you haven't looked after her properly either, it happpens.

[HauntedsandCastle]

You couldn't have stopped it going black, no matter what you did. Even if you took her to the dentist the minute after it happened.

The tooth is most certainly dying. If it is her baby tooth then she will get be getting another in its place. If it is her adult tooth (you haven't said how old she is) she will have treatment to help it and the dentist should whiten it for her.

[throckenholt]

I think it might mean the root is damaged - but since it is once of her milk teeth it will fall out at sometime in the future anyway.

I am pretty sure teeth can stay in and remain functional even without the root (eg after root canal treatment).

So should be fine if a bit unsightly.

[GoingQuietlyMad]

thank you all so much. she is three. it is a while before she will get the next one in.

you're right though about putting on a brave face. we have an appointment at 9.45 this morning, so will need to make it "exciting" rather than scary.

[TwigTwoolett]

how did dentist go?

[LadyTophamHatt]

My ds1 has a grey tooth too, from falling on th kitchen floor when he was little.

Dentist wasn't concerned at all.

[LadyTophamHatt]

My ds1 has a grey tooth too, from falling on th kitchen floor when he was little.

Dentist wasn't concerned at all.

[FIMBOnABroomstick]

My dd did this to her front tooth after from falling over at playgroup when she was 3. The dentist said it would probably be one of the first of her teeth to fall out - it wasn't it hung on in there to the bitter end! She is now 8 and has 2 lovely white front teeth.

[joelallie]

Yep. Both of mine. DD's were worst and she had them taken out. DS#1's were left in. BTW tehy both developed an abcess at the root which didn't hurt but was horrible! Dentist wasn't overly worried either time.

[GoingQuietlyMad]

just to say thanks for your advice and concern. the dentist wasn't worried at all, as LTH said. he just looked at it and said "very common injury".

apparently the tooth is dead, and will just come out whenever they do naturally at age 6-7. unless it causes pain or swelling they will leave it there (yuck!). otherwise they will extract .

it will look greyish and he said it won't necessarily get that much worse than now.

i did get the feeling he felt i was wasting his time really . meanwhile dd was oblivious and found it all quite exciting.

you all helped massively in that worry zone before the dentist!