DS has to have his 2 front teeth extracted :(

[shellmc]

Last week my DS had a fall at home and landed flat on his face.
His moth took the brunt of it, and the blood was awful that came from his mouth, after a trip to A+E we were told that his 2 front teeth may go discoloured or may fall out, he had burst the tissue/skin bit that joins the top lip to the gums. And also bit his bottom lip. poor wee man.

He seems to be fine, and when he's asleep me and dh have been looking at his teeth which dont look discloured at seems to be healling quite well. Today tho i was at dentist getting to fillings, and i mentioned to dentist about DS's fall and she had a look, she says he has a bad infection of the gum, she did show me and his gum did look purpley/red, and said his 2 teeth and wobbling and will need extracetd.
I understand if it for the best that they will have to come out, but as there only his first set and are wobbling anyhow, i thought she would have just left them to come out on their own??? He is only 2, and he is eating fine and not complaining or seem to be in pain, if he was then i would surley go ahead and have them taken out, but he is fine. She explained he wnt get his next set till around 5 or 6 and when they do come through they will be crooked as the 1st ones were removed prematurly.

Any opionions?? Should i get 2nd opinion?? What would you do??

Thanks ever soo much for listening.
xx

Definitely second opinion - but quickly as you don't want to end up with him in pain if she is right.

My DD (now 13) fell on her front teeth when she was 2. They were both really loose at first and we had to wait and see whether they would survive. One tooth survived, the other went grey but our dentist wanted it left in to preserve the space for her adult tooth. The tooth did get infected and she had to have it drained a few times, this was painless as the tooth was dead and she has no fear of the dentist. In the end, the tooth lasted until her adult tooth came in at around 6 and no damage was caused to the adult teeth.
If I were you I would definately get a second opinion and don't rush into anything as it takes quite some time before you will be able to tell if the teeth will be ok.

This happened to my dd last September... I feel your pain, she was only 16 months. She had an awful fall and her teeth took the brunt. She actually broke the bone that holds her top teeth in place, damaged the gum and had an awful awful smelly infection all across the top gum. We had to see a facial surgeon who said that the teeth will come out on their own and to leave them be. A year on and she's almost 2.5 and still there. Only one is going to come out, the other re-set and is fine. The other is slowly getting looser. Get a second opinion, but he needs anti biotics for the infec. I cried for days and am still sad but she'll soon loose them anyway and there's worse things that can happen. Good luck

Hello,
Thankyou very much for your replys.......so glad to hear that your DD's both wigwaminamustardmill and CharlieBoo both kept their teeth and they lasted a long while after the falls.
I really cant get my head round why they would want him to have them extracted?? I know he has an infection and is now on 5 day course of antibiotics for it. Everyone i have spoken to whos DC have gone tru simular times, have said that their dentist said they dont like to take teeth out at such a young age.
They are a wee bit wobbly but not hanging on by all means. She has sent for a referral to a near by surgery where he can get slightly sedated and have them taken out. I feel sick at the thought of him going through that let alone going through the next few years without them. The other concern, me and DH have is the fact she says his 2nd set will come through crooked :(
I sdont know whether to wait for referral and then speak to them about it, or go to our own GP, or go back to our dentist and ask if this is the only option.
breatheslowly i going to have to find out soon like you say i dont want him suffering if taking them out is a MUST. But i really hope its not!!

I don't know if you can afford it, but if you can then getting a second opinion privately would be pretty easy - just phone another practice and make an appointment. Ask around your friends for a recommendation of another dentist.

Definately get a second opinion, you should be able to be seen privately within a day or 2 with a bit of begging and pleading. My dd did the same and one tooth went grey but it stayed put until the new teeth pushed it out.

Well came in from work today had a message on the answear machine, from dental surgery who DS has been referred to, saying iv to contact them ASAP.
Going to be monday now before i can contact them as its the weekend.
Going to ring and ask if it really last option that they need to be taken out.
Im gonna suggest leaving them unless he gets any pain or problems with them, his antibiotics will be finished by tuesday so will see how he goes.

he may have fractured roots sometimes unfortunately we do have to take teeth out, sometimes like wigwam and charlies children they firm up sometimes they go grey sometimes they get badly infected the problem is , if the root has fractured they will keep getting infected and the infection may affect the growing adult teeth which are already there and developing, bad as it is now you do not want to hang on to baby teeth now and find later on his permenent teeth are damaged.

obviously i can not make a diagnosis without seeing your DS generally we try and leave teeth as space savers if nothing else even if they go black,
whatever damaged happenned, happenned when he fell, I know its not much comfort but about 1 in 8 toddlers damage teeth to a greater or lesser degree ( boys and girls equally)

however if a root fracture which you can tell by where the point of rotation is on a wobble there is not much option but extraction, with sedation they will be out in seconds and your DS will really not notice that much

but definitely ask at referring clinic if it is really the only option root fractures are a bit of a nightmare to deal with on adult teeth too

hope that helps

Thanks sarahtigh that makes sense and if it is something like the root is fractured and is gonna cause reccuring infection then i will and may have to consider them extracting the teeth.
But thought the dentist would have said that at the time all she said was 'he has a bad infection and will need antibiotics, and unfortunatley will have to have both teeth extracted'.
She also mentioned that because the teeth will be prematuraley taken out, his 2nd teeth will come through crooked, i just thought if thats the case and he doesnt seem to be in pain and still managing to eat normally, then why take them out??
Obv like you say it could be that the root is fractured.
Il know more on monday when i ring, but im not gonna just let them take them out, without knowing why and whether there is a chance they could be fine and last a bit longer like the prev posters DC.
Thanks for your reply x

Listen... Get a second opinion... Your ds is v v young. I saw a consultant who said that dd was so young her adult teeth will merely be a crystal ( or something like that).. And he would almost guarantee the fall alone would not cause problems with them the adult teeth. He was also adamant the tooth would fall out on it's own (which it is doing) and to leave well be. My dentist has pushed me fir an extraction but I mention to her exactly what consultant said ( who she sent us to) and she soon goes quiet. My dds tooth is infected still, she has a gum boil and my dentist said she wouldn't want yo leave in there for too long but like I say it's falling out now anyway. I would also not advise sedation for such a young child. My ds had it at 5 for a damaged tooth from an accident and it was horrible, which is another reason why I refuse to let dd have it. Pm me if u want details or more qs. Good luck

CharlieBoo that is great advice and info, thanks for sharing.

Everyone i have spoken to at work at home and family are all in shock when i said they want to extract them, and not to let it go ahead.
Do you think it would be a good idea to see my own GP about it?? Or would they not know as its dental related?
Im not sure whether its going to be a consultant or just another dental nurse who we have been referred to. Im scared incase he has to have them removed, but also scared i dont let them go ahead and he ends of worse off. Surely the antibiotics will clear the infection, and i would rather just see how he goes. Its not just the extraction, and possibility of damage to 2nd teeth that bothers me, but the word 'Sedation'!!!! Dont want to see him go through that at all!!

I think you need to see a dentist rather than your GP - I imagine that GPs don't know too much about teeth as they leave them to dentists. I certainly would expect to be seeing a dentist not a dental nurse where you have been referred to (I don't think dental nurses do actual treatment, though there are other practitioners with different titles).

Your gp will tell you to speak to the dentist... The antibiotics will clear the infection. Don't rush into anything. I wish you could have seen the state of my dds mouth... It was like a big piece of cheese all across her top gum the infec was that bad... It stunk but the ab's cleared it and slowly the teeth firmed up. Dont be pushed into anything... Do your research, get a second and third opinion if you want to and then decide. I have been there and I was do stressed do know how you feel.

I thought maybe Gp couldnt really help, but wasnt sure.
Thanks breatheslowly i would think it is a dentist where we have been referred to , sorry im not good at explaining myself!! Was thinking a dental nurse as being a dentist
CharlieBoo Ds mouth is a bit of a state and has like a coating over his 2 teeth and gum which is off white/creamy/yellow in colour!! Urrrrgh
Im determined not to just let them go ahead with it without a proper explanation of why they feel they need to be taken out. It gives me hope as you say Your DD mouth was such a state and her teeth firmed up on their own :) I feel sick with the thought of it!! :(

well before i had chance to phone dental surgery back, i recieved a phone call to say they had a cancellation this afternoon ant 3.40pm and could i take DS down to be looked at.
I felt sick all day at work, thinking about what they were gonna say and do.
Well me and DH managed to finish work early and picked DS up from my Mums.
We took him down there, my heart skipping a beat!!
As soon as we entered the room i blurted out ' we really dont want him to have his teeth out' the orthodontist and assistant plus DH all looked at me weird.
The orthodontist said to me calmly he may not need them out,' i wont know untill i look, and extracting them will be very last option'.
Phhhwwwww at least i said it tho.
She examined him, whilst he sat on DH knee and went for a ride on the chair :).... the left tooth has firmed back up and is fine, the right one is damaged and is slightly changing colour already, she is happy to leave it for now to see how he gets on, she says it is hard to tell whether it may have to come out later on or not, it may go grey then black...but as long as he dont seem to get any pain, and wev to keep checking for a white spot on his gum, then he should get away with it falling out itself.
We were both so relieved....especially me, she also said he is too young for sedation, and by leaving him a bit longer even till hes 4 if it lasts that long, would be a better age for him.

Thanks to everyone for your opinions and help.

Glad to hear it's better than it seems - it's a shame the first dentist gave you such a worrying impression.

Shellmc just wanted to say that DD1 fell and hit her front teeth when she was 3. One of them turned grey and every time we go to the dentist, they check to see if there's any infection in the gum. She's never had any problem with it, though people do comment - she has a big smile. I always say: well, being perfect would be very boring!

Dentist also said it's very unlikely that there will be any problem with the adult tooth when the grey one falls out.

Glad to hear everything went well for you and DS.

you have to mention worst case scenario, because if you did not and later something happenned someone would say you never warned us that it may go black, get infected, fall out or have to be taken out, with trauma things don't always go like a text book, glad its sorting itself out though as i said extraction is last resort, just keep an eye on it

Sarah - I think there is a difference between giving the worst case scenario as part of the whole picture and just telling the OP that the teeth will need to be extracted.

shellmc, ds fell on his front teeth when he had just turned two. One of the teeth was fractured badly and he needed it removed. I just wanted to say that his adult tooth came through beautifully - straight, perfectly formed etc. So worst case scenario and your ds needs the discoloured tooth removed, it shouldn't be a problem.

breathe slowly I would agree it is part of the whole picture