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Original poster

dd, 22 months has lost her 2 front teeth whilst out of our care and we don't know how happened........

38 replies

TicTacsMum · 11/10/2007 15:35

I am absolutely gutted. This is a bit of a ramble because I'm confused about things - sorry.

DD is 22 months and was being looked after yesterday by dp's sister who loves her to bits but is a compulsive liar. DD loves her auntie and cousins and really enjoys going to their house.

Anyway - I got a phone call at 1 pm to say that dd had 'taken a tumble' whilst walking back from nursery at 1130 and dp's sis had just noticed that dd's front teeth had gone when they got home. How can you not notice that a toddler has no front teeth?

I raced over and she met me where it happened as I thought that if I could find the teeth they might manage to re-implant them. I realise that it was nearly 2 hours later at that point but was pretty desperate.

Dp's sis told me that dd was chasing her cousin along a (pretty flat) path and she had fallen. I was looking around where she told me it happened and she was looking further up the path, near to some steps. This seems bizarre now. If it had happened where she had told me, why would she be looking 10/15 metres away? When she came back over to where I was, I moved the pram and found a (very clean) tooth underneath. I got her to go to the school to get some milk to put the tooth in and rushed to a local dentist but he said that they would never re-implant baby teeth and she would just have to live without these teeth until her adult teeth come in in about 5 years.

There was also a problem with the front wheel of our 3 wheeler pram, which is strange as it is a decent pram and can withstand pretty much anything.

I left dp's sis and went home with dd, absolutely gutted but as I started to think about things I just felt that something wasn't right.

I took the pram inside later to sort the wheel and as soon as dd saw it she said 'pram - fall'.

Dp questioned his sis about it last night but she is adamant that dd was chasing her cousin when she fell. She has only been walking a few months and can't really 'run' properly yet. We just don't believe her. She has a history of lying about the most bizarre things and we just feel that yet again she isn't telling the truth.

I cannot see how you can knock your teeth out by falling on a flat path. To my mind, the other injuries on her face are not consistent with falling over whilst running. Her hands aren't even grazed as they would be if she had put them out to break a fall.

We went up to where it allegedly happened with dd this morning to see if we could find the other tooth and as soon as she saw the steps (not the path where it was supposed to have happened) she pointed at them and said 'fall'.

We have 3 theories:

1 - that dp's sis didn't put the brake on the pram and it rolled towards then down the steps when she wasn't looking.

2 - our nephew pushed her down the steps in the pram

3 - she was being bumped down the steps without being strapped into the pram and fell out, knocking her front teeth on the edge of a step.

We realise that accidents happen and it abviously wasn't something that was done on purpose but we are so angry and can't come to terms with things as we don't know what actually happened.

Sorry for the ramble. Thanks for reading this far.

What would you do in this situation?

OP posts:
foofi · 11/10/2007 15:37

How awful for you, and your little one.

Well, for starters, I wouldn't leave her in this woman's care again.

CappuScreamO · 11/10/2007 15:39

sorry to hear this

dd2 did fall when she was about this age just running from room to room

and she broke the fall with her cheek, not her hands, and split it open

kids don't fall like we do necessarily

hunkermunker · 11/10/2007 15:39

Oh, you poor love What a shock!

It doesn't sound like your DP's sister is telling the truth

Dinosaur · 11/10/2007 15:40

Both my older DSs managed to hit their front teeth hard enough to damage them permanently although they didn't actually fall out. Ds1 bashed his on his bedguard and DS2 went over the handlebars of his trike and bashed his on the pavement.

bubblerock · 11/10/2007 15:40

Your poor dd! I lost my two front teeth in a car accident at a similar age and had a plate with false baby teeth on until my new ones came through (my mum still has it ) Could you ask the dentist if they could give her a plate?

It all sounds a bit odd re your dp's sis and I would be a bit nervous about her having dd again if she is a bit unreliable.

belgo · 11/10/2007 15:44

I don't think you should ever leave your dd in her care again. Accidents do happen, but sometimes they happen due to negligence, and what she is saying doesn't make sense, so no way can you trust her again with your dd.

your poor dd - that must have been painful, and there must have been lots of blood I imagine!

Original poster
TicTacsMum · 11/10/2007 15:47

Thanks for speedy replies.

At the moment, dp's sis will be lucky if she ever SEES dd again, never mind look after her.

That's really interesting about the plate bubblerock. I've posted a different, shorter message asking for such advice.

We're worried that it will affect her speech development at such an important time. Also her confidence - not so much now but in a year or so when other kids will undoubtedly be constantly asking her why she has no front teeth.

To be honest, she isn't too bothered herself at the moment, apart from poking her mouth and saying feef (teeth) every so often.

OP posts:
Original poster
TicTacsMum · 11/10/2007 15:49

Belgo - the blood thing is bothering me as well. There was no evidence of any blood where she told me it happened. The tooth seemed too clean when I picked it up as well. I am sure she put it under the pram to let me find it where she wanted me to find it.

OP posts:
Original poster
TicTacsMum · 11/10/2007 15:50

I'm off for a sleep as dd is sleeping and I could really do with one too. I'm 12 weeks pregnant and could really be doing without this at the moment.

OP posts:
MascaraOHara · 11/10/2007 15:51

well, if she'd knowcked her teeth out surely there would have been a lot of blood???

my dd fell and knocked one of her teetch when she was about 4 and she loooked a right mess - there was blood everywhere?!?

pooka · 11/10/2007 15:53

God yes - would have thought there'd be plenty of blood/lip sore and so on. The mouth does bleed a fair bit I think. I would really get her seen by a dentist.
It all sounds very dodgy to me - from what you say about the damaged wheel and from what she's said it sounds like there might have been a tumble down the steps to me.

Hulababy · 11/10/2007 15:57

Was there sign of bllod on her clothes at all? I would have expected quite a lot of blood TBH.

Sounds very strange with regards the story, the steps and the pram.

You definitely need to try and get to the bottom of this further before you leave DD with this sister again.

lemonaid · 11/10/2007 16:00

No advice on your dp's sister (exept that I would be very concerned) but I think you are wise to watch out for potential problems. A friend's DS lost one of his front teeth at around this age and it did give him some problems with speech (nothing serious and he was still ahead for his age, just more difficult to understand) and particularly with eating -- he found it difficult to bite food properly and it caused him some problems until they got some therapy for him.

DoctorFrankenSquonk · 11/10/2007 16:03

gosh, how awful!

One thing is certain, you cannot leave your dd with this woman again if you can't trust her to be honest with you.

Accidents happen, but if you don't know whether she was willfully putting your child at risk, then you can't leave dd with her.

spookybatoscar · 11/10/2007 16:03

I've posted on the other thread but I'd like to mention that when DS knocked his gnasher out there was a heck of a lot of blood and sore gums/thick lip

LIZS · 11/10/2007 16:18

dd chipped a front tooth at that age an i was gutted. tbh imho she would have to fallen very hard to knock them out completely , have a very bruised mouth and there would have been blood. I would have expected one or both to chip rather than come out too. I broke mine on a metal rocking horse in the park, very painful and messy, think dr removed the remains .

dd toppled over in the 3 wheeler on uneven ground, is that a possibility that the proam just tipped even with her strapped in ? Whatever your dp's sis is not being entirely honest , and it sounds as if you aren't shocked to be doubting her word. dEfintiely would n't leave her with her again.

HonoriaGlossop · 11/10/2007 16:19

I think make your Dp's sis come to the dentist with you. Tell her they've requested it as they need to know what happened.

Another thing that did occur to me is that I just might take your child to A and E. If the woman is a compulsive liar then you can't be sure what happened, and any blow to the head is worth checking if you weren't there to see the extent of what happened and you're not convinced you are being told the whole story. I'm sure your dd is fine btw, but if nothing else it gives you peace of mind and shows the woman how seriously you're taking what happened.

You must be so angry.

belgo · 11/10/2007 16:28

I was also thinking about the fall and possible head injury - if you don't know what happened, and your dd had a bang to the head, that could have been very very dangerous.

Th biggest risk of head injury is in the first 24 hours, so as the accident happened yesterday and your dd is fine today, then I wouldn't worry so much about that.

But a fall that causes two teeth to be knocked out should always be checked out by a doctor.

GreebosWhiskers · 11/10/2007 16:41

I agree about getting your dd checked out by a doctor. At least that'll show the woman that what happened is being taken very seriously. Also a good idea to have her along at the dentists when you take dd. I honestly wouldn't leave her in your SIL's care again either - even if what happened was a complete accident it doesn't sound as though she's being truthful & so obviously can't be trusted.

I worked briefly as a dental nurse & although didn't see any children's dentures being made did hear the boss talking about it a few times so this definitely seems the best way to go to help her with her speech, self-image & eating.

Your poor dd - I hope she's better soon & that you get to the bottom of this

Screaminglips · 11/10/2007 16:45

that happened to my DD BUT i couldnt find her tooth anywhere till i took her to the Dentist and they explained to me that it actually pushed back into her gums!!

it happened right in front of me 2 days before she had her 2nd birthday party!!

it came down a few months l8ter and now its on an angle - she fell on top of the baby walker!

flamingtoaster · 11/10/2007 16:49

Oh your poor DD - certainly sounds like you haven't heard the right story. I would ask the dentist if she should have a plate both to help with speech and because the position of the baby teeth help with the position of the second ones coming through.

bluejelly · 11/10/2007 16:55

my dd broke her two front teeth off ( they were adult teeth)
Surprisingly little blood and didn't seem to hurt her that much
I was mortified! Felt so guilty as I was with her when it happened ( she fell off her bike)
But she has had them capped and you really couldn't tell the difference and have since heard so many stories of people chipping/breaking their teeth, sort of put it in perspective.

Anyway it's still a shock but I promise in a week's time you won't feel so distressed.
At least it wasn't your dd's adult teeth anyway

Original poster
TicTacsMum · 11/10/2007 19:34

After taking advice from a different dentist and also A&E today it seems that there really isn't anything that can be done at this stage. I'll hopefully manage to get dd to our own dentist next week and we'll have to take it from there.

Thanks for all posts. It seems that we will grow to love her gappy smile!!

Neither dp nor myself feel we can even speak to his sister at the moment but she texted tonight to say that her ds had run too far ahead and the next thing she knew, our dd was on the ground crying and she could have hit the pram or something. She says she just took her eye off the ball and didn't think to check her teeth as she assumed that dd had put her tooth through her lip, hence the blood.

She said something yesterday like 'how do you think I feel'. That's just her all over. She doesn't see that life doesn't revolve around her and her feelings. She's obviously trying to cover her back in some way. We just need to know the truth.

As it happened so near a school at the time nursery comes out we are sure that others must have seen what happened. I think I might try to phone them tomorrow to try to get to the bottom of it.

OP posts:
stripeymama · 11/10/2007 19:39

Just to add that my friends little brother (age about 3) once fell down the stairs and his two front teeth vanished. Turned out they had been knocked back into the gum and grew back within a few months. Not saying this is what happened here tho, sounds dodgy to me. But interesting as I didn't know that could happen.

bubblerock · 11/10/2007 19:52

Losing my 2 front teeth at that age caused me lots of problems later on but that was because when I knocked them out they did damage to my adult teeth too so I had to have my gums cut to let them through and eventually a crown as the one grew smaller and discoloured.

Luckily my parents sued the person that was caring for me (no child locks on the car) and I was given a sum to cover future dental treatment, It hasn't completely covered it and I will probably need an implant within the next two years.

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