Any dentists who can offer advice?

[Mumtothree1]

My daughters beginning to get her adult teeth the first three that have come through look great her back molars are coming in at the moment and from what I can tell they also look fine but her first front tooth is coming in at the moment and there are visible patches on it. I’m really concerned about it and really do not know what to do. The current climate means my dentist is closed and with only emergency dental appointments available I’m not sure where to turn to get some advice. I am so shocked as I’ve never had any issues with any of my children’s teeth. Any advice would be welcome as I can’t stop worrying and wondering what I done wrong. I’m trying to figure out how to upload a picture. 😥

Hi I'm a dentist. I know it can be worrying when you're not sure what is going on.

Is your daughter showing any signs of discomfort from the front teeth? Is she ok when you brush them? Is she happy to use them to chew etc?

There are a number a reasons they could have patches on them and it's difficult to diagnose without at least a picture.

I would say for now that if she's not in any pain then keep them clean making sure they're brushed twice a day and wait until she can see a dentist.

Try and upload a picture if you can and will be able to offer more advice.

Also if you're registered with a dentist they may be able to give you advice over the phone so worth trying them. Xx

Thank you so much for responding. I've tried to attach a photo but as a new user I'm not allowed?

Thankfully the tooth is does not appear to be sensitive or painful. She's happy to let me brush it so I don't think it's bothering her at all. I did try calling our dentist but it was an answering machine service explaining how to access emergency treatment.

what age is she ? does she not brush her own teeth?

She has just turned 6! She helps but no she doesn't brush her own teeth independently yet.

Another Dentist here, if you can get a decent picture, you can either post it here, there are loads of dentists around at the moment or you could e-mail the photo to your Dental Practice for advice.

If you're in England they will either be reopening or gearing up to reopen but initially they'll be dealing with a backlog of emergencies that have built up.
They'll be able to tell whether they need to see your daughter's tooth or whether it can wait until her routine check up.
As brownbuttercup said if she's not complaining of pain there are lots of reasons for marking on a tooth and most of the time no urgent treatment is needed- just keeping it clean and using fluoride toothpaste 1450ppm.

Thanks for the guidance. Unfortunately I'm still unable to load a picture. Tomorrow I'll try my dental practice again. It never crossed my mind to email them even though they communicate with my via email.

I'm in Scotland so we are at slightly different stages of easing lockdown and I'm not sure the plans on dental practices reopening here. Stupidly, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself that we all managed our check ups at the beginning of March and therefore didn't foresee us having issues with teeth 😥

I can finally post a picture.

That is hypoplasia.

There are different types. If it just affects a single front tooth it's usually caused by a fall/knock to the baby tooth that bangs against the developing adult tooth underneath.

There is nothing you need to do for now except keep it clean with fluoride toothpaste to make the surface as hard as possible and keep an eye on her other adult teeth as they erupt. The tooth often looks worst as it just erupts as you can see the most affected part.

If the appearance bothers her when she is older there are lots of ways to disguise the marks. If you search for Icon and hypoplasia it'll show you what can be done.

Thanks for replying.

My dentist replied saying if it's not sensitive or causing any problems then she can wait to be seen when they reopen.

Fingers crossed it's just the one tooth. Next one is coming in behind so we will find out soon enough. 😥