Discoloured teeth/nerve damage...any experiences please....?

[CPtart]

My 5 year old DS fell face first on a tiled floor 6 months ago with his upper mouth taking most of the impact! As well as busting his lip his upper gums were badly bruised for a few weeks but his teeth amazingly remained secure and intact. He was checked over by a dentist and we were warned that if the nerves had been damaged the teeth may discolour, and indeed, in the following weeks the front upper two turned almost black. They have since faded to a pale grey but look increasingly unlikely to return to normal and I am concerned as to any damage/discolouration caused to his second teeth waiting to come through. I know its just a case of waiting to see what happens but wondered if anyone had any similar experiences of this????

[RuthChan]

It sounds like he has indeed killed the teeth.
It is unlikely that they will recover from that having gone grey.
My DS has done the same to one of his top front teeth too. My dentist told me that it is very common, especially in boys, and that it shouldn't be a problem. She hopes that the tooth will remain in place until the adult tooth grows through, but I have to keep an eye on it. She warned me to look for any spots appearing in the gum above the tooth, which could indicate an abscess. This would need to be treated.
I recommend that you see your dentist just to check everything is ok.

[baabaapinksheep]

My DD had a similar thing happen. She fell about 6 months ago and hit her mouth on the skirting board, her lip was badly cut and her top teeth were knocked back. She recovered well, but about a week after I noticed that a tooth was discoloured. Took her back to the dentist, who said that it is very common after trauma to the teeth, and the second teeth would probably be fine. Was told to take her back if the discolouration got significantly worse, or if the tooth became painful. She has been fine since then, and the tooth has slowly returned to a normal colour.

My only advise would be to take your DS back to the dentist if you are at all worried, better safe than sorry.

[sprinkles77]

What baabaapinksheep says is correct. Discolouration of BABY teeth after trauma often improves.

Look out for:
movement of the teeth (not that useful as they will get wobbly anyway)
colour getting darker
swelling / pimple on gum
pain

what happens next? sometimes these teeth are slow to fall out, and sometimes not. they are meant to fall out about aged 7-8

Effect on permenant teeth...
usually none
occasionally surface defect that are pretty minor and easily camouflaged
sometimes a deeper defect that is harder to correct
very very rarely a change in position of the permenant tooth. Nearly always correctable.

so... don't worry too much. Don't hesitate to take him back to the dentist if you're worried. And keep to all your usual good dental habits.

Hope this reassures you. I am a dentist so hopefully even more reassuring!

[CPtart]

Thanks very much, it is reassuring. His older brother is 8.3 and has only lost one bottom baby tooth and has no other "wobblies" so if he follows suit he may be stuck with these dark ones for some time yet!
Thanks again.

[AitchTwoOh]

my dd1's front tooth went grey a few weeks after she fell, i was pretty gutted, but over the following months it went back to normal. fingers crossed.

[DooinMeCleanin]

Dd1 also killed her front baby teeth. She has her adult teeth now and they are fine.