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Original poster

DD fell and now bottom front three teeth are loose

32 replies

thehuntress · 21/02/2009 19:32

I am really upset right now and hoping someone can give me some information. My DD (28 months) fell tonight and knocked her three lower front teeth. There was blood, not a huge amount, but not a small amount. Her teeth feel slightly loose now. Only slightly. But I am very worried. She was upset, rightly so, for the first 30 minutes, but seems okay now - even giggling and running around. But she's about to go to bed and I'm worried she will mess with them during the night and make it worse.

From reading up on the internet, it seems that they may heal or tighten back up. But there is also the possibility they will discolor or at worst get infected and require extraction. I'm also worried that she might pull them in the night and they might come loose and choke her. i know, unlikely, but my mind is racing right now.

I've given her Calpol and only fed her soft stuff for dinner (she ate well). Any similar experiences.

Should I take her to the dentist? She's never been and her teeth were perfect before this

Thanks so much

OP posts:
Nabster · 21/02/2009 19:35

My 5 year old fell and bashed her face against a stool at the shoe shop. There was a lot of blood and crucially there was bleeding between the top tooth and the gum. I rang the dentist and they said to bring her straight over.

Her tooth has dropped a bit but there is no chipping so she didn't need an x-ray. We have to keep an eye on it for colour change, ulcers and pain but so far she has been fine.

We got a prescription for some mouthwash to clean around the tooth that moved for the next 2 weeks.

Hope your little one is fine.

blametheparents · 21/02/2009 19:36

I can't offer any advice, but hope your DD is ok xxxxx

VinoEsmeralda · 21/02/2009 19:41

My Ds couldnt stop his trike when he was 2.5 and launched into a door and his front tooth was loose but tightened up but unfortunately it went grey. Strangely enough he is 5 now and the grey is nearly gone...

Luckily they are only the milk teeth...

Original poster
thehuntress · 21/02/2009 19:41

There was bleeding behind the teeth from the gum. It has stopped and didn't last long but this is what had me worried. There is no way I could get her to use a mouthwash - she would swallow it like she does toothpaste. It's Saturday night, so I'm not sure what to do. No dentist is open for two days!

OP posts:
MayorNaze · 21/02/2009 19:41

calm. it will be fine. do you have an out of hours service you can ring for dental queries? leave the teeth alone, if you don't poke them, she is much less likely to and if she seems well and happy then they can't be hurting her.

sounds like you have done all the right things.

mosschops30 · 21/02/2009 19:45

oh thehuntress I feel your pain

ds ran into a wall last september, there was a horrendous amount of blood and dh took him to A&E. He was examined by the max fax team who were considering removing his two front teeth but then decided to hand him over to the dental hospital the following morning.

They x-rayed his teeth and saw that the root on one was completely broken and we knew he would lose his tooth, the other one was less so, and that one has survived (like you say they can heal and tighten up). He lost the other one in a fish finger . The x-ray showed his adult teeth were not damaged.

If I were you, I'd take your dd either to A&E or the dental hospital (if you have one close by) and then at least she can be checked out properly

MayorNaze · 21/02/2009 19:45

dd fell flat on her face on a concrete patio when she was 4 - bashed 2 front top teeth and they went from being straight to one forward and one back - though weren't sufficiently loose for me to out them back how they were.

dentist just said to leave them?!

they did discolour, but have since fallen out naturally (she is now 7). teeth underneath are fine which was my main worry.

am sure your dd will be absolutely fine.

mosschops30 · 21/02/2009 19:46

also that at 28 months your dd has never been to the dentist, you know they should start about 6 months

Original poster
thehuntress · 21/02/2009 19:46

I know I should be calm [deep breath]. I know the chances are this is all fine. And in the whole scheme of things a lot worse could happen. But she was with grandpa by herself when this happened and I feel quite guilty.

I don't have an out of hours service. At least not one that I've ever used. I'm in London. I have private healthcare through my company, maybe they have a helpline. I will check.

Thanks for your replies.

OP posts:
Original poster
thehuntress · 21/02/2009 19:47

Mosschops - I know, I know but that doesn't help me right now on a Saturday night with no dentist open. I had made an appt for two weeks to take her. She has perfect teeth, as far I can tell so far.

OP posts:
MayorNaze · 21/02/2009 19:48

ring your dentist - see if there is an out of hours number on the answerphone.

Original poster
thehuntress · 21/02/2009 19:52

DH has just put her to bed. She was completely happy so I don't think that I should drag her to the dentist hospital. I think there is one in London. I will take her in the morning if she appears to be in pain or has swelling, bleeding anything. thanks for your replies.

OP posts:
Nabster · 21/02/2009 21:16

Mine wouldn't be able to use a mouthwash either. You dip a cotton bud in it and wipe around the tooth and gum.

I def recommend you see a dentist asap.

Nappaholic · 21/02/2009 23:40

I'm really sad because my 13 month old fell against a chair today and actually broke his top front tooth (he only has four!). We spent some time at the duty dentist this morning, who has referred is to hospital, as he will need a general anaesthetic to enable removal of the (badly broken) remaining half. He's eaten lunch and tea OK, and had Calpol and went to sleep as usual around 8pm tonight. So I'm feelin' yer Huntress!

MarmadukeScarlet · 21/02/2009 23:48

My DS has physical disabilities and is always falling and knocking his teeth, 2 grey front ones (but like previous poster have started to be less so now he is getting on for 5).

He has seen 2 diff dentists with wobbly teeth, have never been give mouthwash. On the 4 occasions we have seen dentist they have always said, as long as they are in line they should be ok.

Apart from the top grey ones, have had no problems.

Hope all ok, but do not worry too much.

Helen31 · 22/02/2009 00:02

Not sure where you are in London, but you will definitely be able to find an emergency dental service in the morning, and there are a number of dental hospitals (e.g. Eastman at UCL, Barts also has one) which might also be an option. Just do a quick search on google.

If you're registered with a dentist, they will normally have a recorded message out of hours telling you how to contact the emergency dental service.

morningsun · 22/02/2009 00:02

my dd did this over a w/e when 20 mos advice over phone from dentist was to observe really
is her chin ok?
suggest ring dentist number tomorrow am may have out of hours number on answer message
or are you on denplan?
if not got either of those try nhs direct at least you will feel you have done something
on a positive note they are usually the first baby teeth to come out at about 4/5
and don't feel guilty its just an accident and very common

SparklyGothKat · 22/02/2009 00:07

when my ds1 was small he fell over with his dummy in his mouth, and push his two front teeth back into the gum He was seen at the hospital and they said that he may have damaged the adult teeth behind them, but his teeth would come back down, and may be discoloured, but they were fine and his adult teeth are fine too..

Original poster
thehuntress · 22/02/2009 17:42

Thanks for all of the replies. I really appreciate it. We are much better today. DD has mentioned a few times that teeth hurt but mostly seems fine and happy. I decided not to take her to a dental hospital because she finds doctors quite stressful. We've had full blown tantrums before. But we will definitely see a dentist tomorrow. They all appear to be in the same place and I'm too scared to touch them to see how wobbly they are. The gums look bruised behind the teeth but no swelling, etc. that I can see.

Sounds very common, and I guess these things happen.

Thanks again to everyone.

OP posts:
MayorNaze · 22/02/2009 17:54

glad to hear things are ok

MarmadukeScarlet · 22/02/2009 19:15

You probably have thought to not give her anyting hard she needs to bite, haven't you? (like an apple or pizza that isn't cut small)

MarmadukeScarlet · 22/02/2009 19:16

Sorry, just noticed at end of op you have fed her soft stuff.

I hope all continues well.

Original poster
thehuntress · 23/02/2009 14:38

Just thought I would give an update as it might help others in the future. We went to the dentist this morning. He took a look and spent a long time going through the possible outcomes with me. He says that by the way the teeth are wobbling, he doesn't think she has nerve damage - just damage to the fibers around the nerve that hold the tooth in place. He said that most likely these will heal. He gave that outcome at 90%.

But he did say that there is a possibility of the teeth discolouring. He said that if it does discolour, it could lighten back up in about 6 - 9 months. Or it could stay dark. We just have to wait and see.

He also said that if the tooth is going to get infected, it should happen about three weeks after the incident. He told me to look for a pimple or sore at the base of the gum (in our case inside the bottom lip).

If it does get infected, then he will need to pull the tooth because the infection could damage the permanent teeth.

He did not take x-rays. He also said I don't have to be too careful about what she eats because the pain in her teeth will guide her. He said eating is not going to make things worse. Obviously, I won't be giving her apples or anything really hard.

Also, she has had no pain. So I was concerned that it might have meant the nerves had died. He said that in this kind of injury, pain is not prevalent and that was no indication of the ultimate outcome.

So I feel a tiny bit better, but know that I will still be worried for a while. Thanks again for all of the replies.

OP posts:
MarmadukeScarlet · 23/02/2009 14:42

I'm very pleased for you both

(sorry about the apples comment, my daft DH gave DS a really hard gingerbread man to cheer him up one time - screamed more when I took that away than when he bashed his mouth )

Original poster
thehuntress · 23/02/2009 15:49

No worries about the apple comment - DH was play-wrestling with her yesterday in the garden and my heart was in my throat. But I guess kids must be kids!

OP posts: