4 year old knocked out tooth today

[accidentpronemum]

My (just) 4 year old fell off his bike and knocked out his front tooth this afternoon. He'd damaged it already (about 8 months ago) after a nursery accident so I suspect it was a bit loose already.

I'm so upset for him. He is so sensitive and this will really damage his self confidence (he already gets very upset about a tiny birthmark on his face whenever anyone innocently asks him about it) and has cried none stop since it happened saying he wants it back.

I've obviously tried to reassure him but he's having none of it.

NHS dentist said just wait for adult teeth aged 7 - but that leaves him feeling self conscious for 3+ years. Is there anything at all cosmetic and not too invasive that we can do privately?! I worry about this leaving him lacking in confidence when he starts school.

It might not be as long as 7 tbh, my son naturally started losing teeth before he turned 5 and the adult teeth grew in quickly

Thank you for replying. That would be amazing if it were the case but he got his first baby tooth quite late so I'm not sure he will be so lucky!

My DS knocked both his 2 front teeth badly when he was 4 and they both had to be removed, it was at least a couple of years until they grew back. I wouldn't have considered any cosmetic procedure at his age, seems unnecessary when they will grow back in time. He was obviously upset and in pain when the accident happened but fine after. We were always positive about it/downplayed it. Told him he was just losing his teeth earlier than his friends but that meant the tooth fairy would visit him sooner! It's really not a big deal if you don't make it one. If anyone ever asked it was an exciting story to tell and we made a big deal of how brave he was at the dentist (he was!)

Don't let your son see that you are upset by it and be positive about it and about the new tooth growing though. Hopefully he'll pick up on your attitude and not be bothered by it.

They won't do anything about it. Ds and dd were playing on their bunk beds and dd swung on the bottom of the top bunk as ds sat up and she knocked 6 of his teeth out including the top and bottom 2.

His friends will soon start losing their teeth anyway so hopefully he won't be the only one without them.

Yes we also had a big visit from the tooth fairy!

Thank you. Does make me feel better that it's happened to others and they weren't bothered! Will keep going with the positivity and hope he gets on board.

Laying awake worrying about being teased by friends, speech development and all sorts which is pointless as it sounds like there's nothing I can do now it's happened!

I can't imagine kids that age teasing about something like this. I think DS just had a good story to tell his friends if asked! He's 13 now, I'm not sure if he even remembers it happened at all, I'll have to ask him in the morning.

It certainly hasn't affect his confidence or speech or anything. It's horrible when anything bad happens to your child and it seems like a massive deal at the time but it really isn't. I hope he's feeling much happier in the morning.

Thank you. Big visit from the tooth fairy it is!

My little boy knocked 3 of his top front teeth out just after turning 4. He's 8 on his next birthday and still no sign of the adult teeth 😔
It was really hard seeing the massive gap for a long time, but now I've grown used to seeing him look like he does.
He's never been bothered by it, and no other children have ever really passed comment. Luckily it's a common age for wobbly and missing teeth.

I can say I'm near enough certain there will be no teasing from other children, especially at his age. It's common for children to have missing teeth as they fall out - and that's how others will see it. My eldest DS (9) still has 2 gaps next to his two front upper teeth where they're taking so long to come through, it's been months - and even at that age there has been no teasing.
I doubt you'll even find it won't affect his speech either!
I wouldn't go down the route of getting something temporary. Such a young age and like we've said, in no time the adult tooth will be there and he's so young. Please don't worry about it.
Try not to make a big deal of it, and when he does go to mention it, take his mind straight away from it with something else fun and exciting to do/read/play etc. He will be absolutely fine. Don't stress x

Thank you everyone, honestly you've made me feel so much better. Just dropped him at nursery who told me two other children in his room have knocked teeth out this year! Sure I'll be finding his happy smile adorable in no time

Ds lost a baby tooth when he was just 1, he'd only had it a few months.

I worried about him being teased, not learning to speak properly, all sorts.

But he was completely fine. The only way it was a tiny issue is that when his adult tooth filled the gap he did lisp for a while until he got used to having a tooth there. Hardly anyone noticed that though, just us. And he commented on how it felt weird for a while.

Sympathy op, I know how upsetting it is, even though it's only a small baby tooth. I was upset too.

DS had to have one of his front teeth taken out as it had been knocked sideways and they won't resite baby teeth as it could damage the adult teeth growing underneath. I'd be surprised if they would do any kind of temporary solution for the same reason, wouldn't implants etc have to be embedded in the gum and that would risk damaging the adult teeth forming there?

The first children to start loosing baby teeth start loosing them at 5 so he won't stand out for long. Maybe if you point out it makes him look older it will help? It was a shock at first with DS, but you do get used to seeing them without the tooth, DS did very slightly lisp for a few weeks but then got used to it and speech was fine.