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Original poster

discoloured tooth - i think he's bashed it

22 replies

DaddyCool · 27/06/2005 13:12

... i noticed one of ds's (2 yrs old) front teeth is discoloured and has gone a grey colour (of course, it was all my fault according to dw because i noticed it and ruined her day). dw reckons he's bashed it and this is what happens and it's permanent. it broke my heart to think he's bashed his precious, first front tooth so early on.

is there anyway to remedy this or do i just wait for it to fall away and make way for his adult teeth in a few years time?

OP posts:
HappyMumof2 · 27/06/2005 13:15

Message withdrawn

Original poster
DaddyCool · 27/06/2005 13:17

well, he tripped out the back door at his grandmas a few weeks ago and got a fat lip and bad mark on his nose but i didn't notice any problems with his tooth and it certainly wasn't bleeding or anything.

OP posts:
Freckle · 27/06/2005 13:17

Does he not go to the dentist? All mine have had regular check ups since they were one year old, which gets them used to the whole dentist "experience" and therefore are not worried if they need emergency treatment. If you are worried, get your dentist to look at it. If he has bashed it, he may have damaged the root which would cause the tooth to discolour. Probably not much can be done about it, but a dentist would be able to confirm.

At least it was one of his first teeth. Both DS1 and DS3 have, on separate occasions, fallen over and chipped one of their front teeth - second teeth - which has involved having emergency treatment to build up the tooth.

Fimbo · 27/06/2005 13:19

Hi DC,
My dd fell over at playgroup when she was 2.5yrs on to a hard surface and bumped her mouth really hard on the floor. Her two front teeth became discoloured. I took her to the dentist who said there is nothing you can do about it!! Having said that he said the front teeth would probably fall out sooner - but they hung on to the bitter end and she only lost them ages after the other ones started to fall out when she was 6. I did become paranoid for a while when she had photographs taken and used to make sure everyone knew that she had had an accident with her teeth and it wasn't that we hadn't cleaned them!

Original poster
DaddyCool · 27/06/2005 13:19

he doesn't go to the dentist. i didn't even realise people took kids to the dentist that young. i'll have to look into it. are you private or NHS?

OP posts:
Fimbo · 27/06/2005 13:21

My dd and ds go to our local village dentist, who took them on as NHS despite being a private practice.

HappyMumof2 · 27/06/2005 13:24

Message withdrawn

Katemum · 27/06/2005 13:26

My ds bumped his mouth aged two and also has a grey tooth. Rang dentist and they wanted him in just to check it. After looking at it they confirmed that the best thing was to leave it be.

Original poster
DaddyCool · 27/06/2005 13:28

he had antibiotics when he was first born but nothing since.

poor kid. you just want them to be perfect don't you. things like this really eat away at me.

OP posts:
Freckle · 27/06/2005 13:35

We're NHS, DC. We received an invitation from the Community Health Dentist when each child turned one. After that, we just ensured that they had check-ups every 6 months. They start off just playing with the child to get them used to opening their mouth, showing them the instruments and starting to put the mirror-thingey into the mouth. All this whilst the child is sat on mum's lap. Then they graduate to sitting in the chair by themselves - so exciting, especially when the chair goes up and down!

Mine now fight to be the first in the chair when it comes to check-up time (they're 11, 9 and 7). As I said, two of them have had to have emergency treatment which they took easily in their stride.

If you are NHS yourself, you should find that your dentist will take on your child as an NHS patient. If private, your dentist might still take on any child as NHS. We all started out as NHS, but our surgery changed their system so that DH and I now subscribe to some sort of insurance plan, but the children remain NHS patients.

fifilala · 27/06/2005 14:08

my ds went over handle bars of a trike at nursery - face a real mess, now has two grey teeth - dentist advised to leave alone, there is a chnace that they could abcess but they said as he is so young the greyness may also fade, so it is a matter of watch and wait and see!!

madmarchhare · 27/06/2005 14:27

DC, it tends to be tetracycline (sp?) that the problems are with as far as antibiotics go. I dont think they give that to young children anymore, and Im sure its if theyve been swigging the stuff. It does seem like a knock though if its just the one.

Original poster
DaddyCool · 27/06/2005 14:33

i think i'll go through the process of getting him in with my dentist. it sounds like though, it's just wait and see.

he's got absolutely no self preservation. he bashes into everything. he also had a very nasty collision with another boy at the playgroup the other day and that might have done it as well.

OP posts:
Berries · 27/06/2005 14:35

DD2 did this with her 1st tooth. Was v discoloured but eventually went back to white, & stayed in longer than the next one. Finally fell out at 7.

dinosaur · 27/06/2005 14:42

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

jambo1707 · 27/06/2005 15:42

This has happened top my twins as they were prem and were covered by anti b's the dentist said this is what has caused the discoloration.

Hopefully will fade as teeth grow and not affect adult teeth

chicagomum · 27/06/2005 15:47

if it was tertacycline the teeth (all of the ones developing at the time it was taken (which i doubt he would have as it isn't given to kids) )would have come through grey, not changed colour later. it sounds as though the fall he took knocked the tooth and has cuased the nerve to die inside the tooth the grey colour is the dead tissues "leaching" into the tooth substance, sounds horrible but its painless. what you need to do now is get a dentist to check it, what is generally done is the tooth is monitored if ds complains of pain or sensitivity or if you notice a swelling on the gum above the tooth these are all indications that there is an infection starting and then the tooth will need to be treated (the treatment will depend on the condition of the tooth and ds's age (remember he will loose this tooth at about 6)the adult tooth should be fine as 1. it is pretty well developed by now and 2. it could only be damaged if the baby tooth was pushed up into it and then you would have noticed it wasn't in the right place or was loose. sometimes the grey fades sometimes it doesn't but that isn't cause for concern. one last point i know you feel bad about this but i see 3-4 kids like this a week and most keep the tooth until its due to fall out naturally with nothing more than monitoring

lmccrean · 27/06/2005 20:47

Wow, this is more common than I thought..my dd (2 1/2) fell 2 weeks ago and her tooth was wobbly. now completely grey. breaks my heart to see it, cause always been so careful with keeping her teeth beautifully white. But I now realise its prob happened to loads of kids that I know, and it isnt that obvious..phew!

Sugarmag · 28/06/2005 12:38

I can sympathise completely - you think they are perfect and then it just kills you when you look at them and they're not! I've had bad luck with both my two. DD (4) fell and bumped her mouth - was bleeding and ended up with a big fat lip. Then about 10 days later her front tooth went grey. You'll be pleased to hear that a few days after that it seemed to go back to normal. I asked our dentist about it (she's been going since she was 2) and she said sometimes if you bump the tooth it just gets bruised - like a black and blue mark on your skin - and then it goes away again adn it's fine. DS (2) wasn't so lucky last year when he fell flat on his face adn knocked one of his front teeth right out! Still waiting for an apploinment with the dental hospital to see if they will do anything about it or not.

Wormum · 30/01/2007 03:30

My 3 year old bumped her tooth on the bath. There was no blood and the tooth wasn't loose but 2 weeks later it turned grey. The dentist said it is possible the adult tooth may come out grey or be bent which seems like an unduly pessimistic prediction. Now I will have to wait 3 years to see what's what.Has anyone else been told that?

sandcastles · 30/01/2007 03:43

It is very likely that it was due to a bash. If it were due to AB's, it would affect all the teeth & it is usually the permanent teeth that are effected.

DD did this, bashed the tooth & now it is grey & non vital. Which basicaly just means that the tooth is dead. Her tooth showed no signes of damage, just cut lip etc too.

It won't cause any problems. Any pain associated with it stops once the disclouration reaches its darkest. Leave it be, very rare it should cause probs in adult teeth & not a lot (if indeed anything)a dentist would do.

& yes, start the children going to the dentist as young as possible.

sandcastles · 30/01/2007 03:48

Didn't realise this was so old!

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