8 year old broke top front tooth, so upset. Dentist tonight. Advice please

[Pastasau]

My dd is just after breaking her top front tooth. I'm so upset, she was playing with her sister & lost her balance & fell. Its a permanent tooth & half of its gone.. She is seeing the emergency dentist at 7...is her smile ruined for life? Her teeth are so nice😭

I chipped the bottom of my front tooth at a similar age. Gradually got worse over the years and i used to avoid smiling open mouthed for photos. I paid to get it restored by a private cosmetic dentist using some sort of resin, i forget what its actually called. Best few hundred quid iv spent!

My son did the same at a similar age - half the tooth gone. The dentist had to do a root canal and built the tooth back up using filling materials, I think. It has lasted 9 years, you wouldn’t know to look at it although the dentist has warned that he will probably need a crown one day.

It is upsetting though and I hope your dd is alright.

How horrible for you both. I can't be much help, but my cousins knocked both front teeth out at a similar age. She has had quite a lot of work over the years, but you wouldn't know any different to see her smile. I also had a large gap from a retained milk tooth and now have a bridge in place, again no one can tell. Good luck

My son did the same thing and they have built it up with a putty type of thing.

It took a few tries and we had to go to specialist dentist but you can't tell now

Life isn't ruined !

It happened to me as a child too. It was initially fixed with filling type material and then a proper crown fitted on when I was 18 or thereabouts (something about your mouth still developing as you grow so it couldn't be done before). No one can tell it's not my real tooth and cosmetic dentistry is even better these days- I'm in my late 30s now and have had the same crown all this time.

It happens, I know 2 kids have had to manage a broken front tooth from age 6/8yo. Dentists glue it back on, it falls off, they glue it back on while growing up... Not what you wanted but cosmetic dentistry gets better all the time so probably be even better (semi)permanent solutions within 10 yrs from now.

Thanks so much, I know it could be worse. It happened me too with a bottom tooth & over the years it grew discoloured & I never smiled for photos. I'm afraid that this will be the same for her & her confidence will be ruined...
Any advice on after care etc?

My son did the same thing. Do you have the bit that came off? We kept it in a bit of milk and they were able to stick it back on. Been told it will never be as strong and not to bite into apples etc using that tooth but you couldn't tell to look at it.

It happens more than you'd think. My father smashed all 4 of his front (adult) teeth out, when someone accidentally hit him in the mouth with a small stone aged about 12. He got temporary implants for a couple of years, then permanent implants as a teen, you would never know to look at him. He's late 60s now & they are still fine. I bet treatment options are a lot better now, too.

I had this aged 9. Back then, more than 30 years ago, things weren’t great and I grew up with a filler that turned yellow after a couple of years so I never smiled as a teen.
Tried a couple of times as an adult, same thing kept happening.
Finally got a great filler about 10 years ago and have never looked back. Almost indistinguishable from my real tooth and probably would be even better today. Techniques and practitioners have hugely improved.
You might have to try a few times - with a couple of different specialists if necessary. Act quickly if the result discolours, otherwise your DD will stop smiling - but with a little perseverance you’ll definitely get there!

Happened to my DD aged 10 about 4 years ago.
They built it up with a toothy looking substance, colour matched, and you'd never know the difference.
She'll likely get a more permanent repair when she's older, but the repair is, for now, very good.

My front teeth grew in broken and crumbling, no idea why. I hated smiling and even now tend to cover my smile with my hand if I'm in a group I'm less confident in, even though I don't need to now.

I had crowns fitted at 18/19 and they have lasted so far - I'm 45 this year. I'd imagine at some point they will need replacing but its only in recent years you can tell the colour match isn't quite right.

Hope she’s ok at the dentist. I broke mine at 10. Many years ago!!! Had a crown then a bridge fitted when I was 20. Still got the bridge 40 years later! I actuaywent to the dentist today for another crown and he commented on how good my bridge still looks.

I did the same as a kid and two out of 3 of my kids have smashed both of their front teeth. It's pretty common and you can't tell once they're fixed.

My DS chipped his front tooth today too, but it doesn't sound like it was quite as bad as your DD. The dentist put some filler on to smooth the ragged edge and we'll get something more permanent done next week. Annoyingly it was one of his brand new adult front teeth...

I’m a teacher and this happened to a boy in my class a few years ago. They built it up and it looked just the same, it’s upsetting but as others have said probably more common than you think.

My son did this a couple of years ago, smashed it diagonally - it was built back up with a composite filling type material and you’d never have known!

Unfortunately after a year he started to get tooth ache and x-rays showed that he had caused quite a lot of damage to the nerve (apparently it can take years to show sometimes, I never knew) so he had a new treatment which regenererated the nerve. This will enable the root of his tooth to grow stronger which is better long term than a root canal. His tooth is a little discoloured but dentist said it’s purely cosmetic and will be easy to sort out if/when he wants

It is upsetting, I cried my eyes out!!

She will probably need a crown.

If so, the dentist will inject her with local anaesthetic and drill away part of the remaining tooth to create a foundation for the crown to sit on, This will then be covered with a temporary crown. This process isn’t much fun, but it’s necessary.

Then, she will make an impression of the teeth from which a crown can be created. The crown will be colour-matched to her other teeth. Then, when the crown is fitted, it will be shaped precisely to get a perfect bite and shape. It won’t be noticeable.

Source : Me. I had a crown fitted on a broken incisor in 2019.

I broke my tooth in half aged 7 on a kerb. Had a temporary crown till I was 18 (which was fine until I pulled it off eating toffee - still avoid toffee!) and then a permanent one followed by a root canal it's lasted till now and I'm 47 and I think they've improved since then.

I did it as an adult. They were able to glue the bit back on. It did then slowly tercolour so I had a veneer fitted. Only I can tell. I paid extra to visit the lab for colour matching

• did slowly discolour

DS did this in March, just as we went into lockdown. He fell off his scooter and smashed both front teeth.
The dentist removed the rough edges, then we had to wait two weeks to see if there was any damage to the root or nerve, and to allow the gum to tighten up again.
It was all fine so the dentist rebuilt the lower part. You can't even tell the difference now and DS has no trouble biting things.

I don't think she'll need a crown The dentist just moulded a bit on free hand. I say a bit, it was half a tooth. It was like playdough, but hardened quickly. There was no drilling or anaesthetic involved.

I broke a front tooth aged 10, had it built up for a bit, then a veneer. Eventually it must have become infected or something because I had the worst toothache ever. This resulted in a crown.

It happened to my ds op, it's heartbreaking as he also had lovely teeth. They built them back up with a resin but he's now wearing braces and unfortunately one of the fillings as fallen off.
Looking at crowns or maybe veneers as he has half of his teeth left.

Such a horrible feeling... I feel for you - but what's done is done.