Chipped tooth

Anyone had experience with a kid losing a tooth at a young age?

Jack (aged 2) fell and chipped one of his front teeth tonight. The rest of the tooth is really loose so I am sure it will get pulled. I am just wondering if he will have a gap until his permanent tooth comes in or if they will cap it? Of course this happens on a Friday night so we can't see a dentist until Monday.

He has already been burned by boiling water this week and has blisters covering most of his forehead.

Luckily neither issue seems to be bothering him too much but I am not exactly feeling like an awesome mama right now.

[HouseofWool]

Caleb chipped a tooth at about that age. They might not pull the loose tooth as they do have a tendency to tighten back up.

[houseelf]

Please don't be hard on yourself. Two year olds are like dwarf stuntmen.

[HouseofWool]

Please don't be hard on yourself. Two year olds are like dwarf stuntmen.

Only with significantly less grace.

DD knocked two of her teeth loose a few months ago (she was 20 months or so.) I thought for sure they would have to come out, but they tightened up within a couple weeks. We chose not to have any xrays done so we aren't sure that there was no nerve damage. The ped dentist said we just need to keep an eye on the teeth because nerve damage can take up to a year to show up.

Fingers crossed that Jack's tooth tightens up and hugs to you!

[alison]

Eeeps. Of course this happens on a Friday... I've got some experience with seeing a dentist on an emergency basis. If you want peace of mind over the weekend, you could try calling around -- just look up providers that your insurance covers and make some calls; you'd be surprised at the number of dentists out there who work on Saturday mornings. When you make calls, there's usually a receptionist type operator who will field your call and then contact the dentist for you. Of course, if he isn't in any pain, then I think you'll be ok.

[migirl]

DS#1 fell and chipped his tooth about a year ago, it wasn't loose though. Erica is right about it taking up to a year for the nerve damage to show up, just in the past few weeks it's started to turn brown. So it's a dead tooth, but the dentist looked at it at his regular checkup and said it looked okay.

I know someone whose son had to have his tooth pulled because of a post-injury abscess, and he didn't get a cap so he just has a gap there until his permanent tooth comes in.

Hope your little guy avoids any more mishaps this week!

I should have said broken instead of chipped. About half the tooth is gone. He has a sharp little skinny tooth left behind. Interesting to hear that it may tighten up again, but I don't know if they can leave that little bit.

I guess I'll find out on Monday. We have cheap-o insurance that won't pay for anything not done at our dentist, unless it is pain relief. I am so glad that he is not showing signs of being in pain although it LOOKS painful!!!

The stuntman without grace is spot on. J is such a daredevil. I thought that once he got good at walking the injuries would slow down, but he tests his limits contantly with climbing, running, jumping. At least when they start playing sports they get protective gear!

[Momo]

Holy cow what a week you two have had! I second what Alison told you!
Almost all dental plans will list emergency providers in your area...they'd rather have it taken care of instead of having bigger issues on the first regular business day!
I guess this is one week where daddy being in EM has hopefully helped settle (what would be for me) some serious nerves!

[madeintaiwan]

I just saw this thread. Definitely get it taken care of of. A fell while walking when she was about 9 months old and chipped her two front teeth. I figured there wasn't much to be done. At 22 months I noticed decay, we didn't have dental insurance so we took her to see a friend of a friend who was a dentist who told me there was nothing I could do, that the teeth would just fall out, but to stop nursing her. Which I did. When we started residency [and got dental insurance] A was about 2.5 and we finally took her to the dentist. They immediately suggested extensive dental work to save her teeth because they are key to holding the place for the adult teeth to come down in to. I consulted my step uncle who is a dentist [which I should have done long before] and he agreed. It ended up costing thousands of dollars. They put her under at the children's hospital. It would have been substantially less had we taken care of it when she was nine months old.

If it's going to be a lot, try to go to USC's dental school. My step uncle went to school there and the dental students do free work there. There are also low cost [and free] pediatric dental clinics around you. I hope little man is ok. If they know what they're talking about from what you described, he'll need a mini root canal and a crown put on. A's crowns are silver but they have enamel "plates" on the fronts. If you do nothing, it will decay and fast [can also cause infection] and you don't lose your front teeth until you're 6 or 7. So if it falls out prior to, he's going to have a hole there for a LONG time. Let me know if you have any questions, my uncle still practices and my step grandfather is retired but still very knowledgeable.

Don't be so hard on yourself. I have slammed fingers in doors and crushed little ones.... we all have our moments....

[Meenah]

Can you go the route of an Endodontist? Medical insurance may cover what dental doesn't for an Endodontist (at least mine did). Of course my Dentist didn't tell me that. Call your insurance company before you go to the dentist so that you will know ahead of time and if it is covered you can request being referred to a Pediatric Endodontist.

[madeintaiwan]

Can you go the route of an Endodontist? Medical insurance may cover what dental doesn't for an Endodontist (at least mine did). Of course my Dentist didn't tell me that. Call your insurance company before you go to the dentist so that you will know ahead of time and if it is covered you can request being referred to a Pediatric Endodontist.

Our medical only covered anesthesia and facility charges, which were 5k. Our dental covered 80% to 50% of the dental work, depending on the "procedure." You should definitely look at your policy to see what it covers.

[GrayMatterWife]

Kirsty:

Thinking about you guys! Have you been able to see a dentist or other specialist about the tooth? That sounds so painful. I once got a tiny chip on a tooth, and I couldn't eat anything on that side of my mouth, and whined and moaned like I'd been shot.

Davita, thanks for sharing your experience. It was good to read yesterday but I didn't get a chance to respond.
When I read that A got hers fixed at the hospital I was wondering about insurance, I didn't consider anything would be covered by medical. So I checked ours and it also covers anesthesia and facility charges. Phew.
No idea what our dental insurance covers but I got an appointment with our dentist this afternoon. I hope they want to fix it, it does seem like it would be important to have a tooth there for the next 4 or so years, even for speech! Right after the dentist we have a peds appointment for burns follow up! Should be a fun afternoon.
Thanks for thinking of us, I will let you know what they say!

[HouseofWool]

What a busy day, but at least you will have some information on what will be done. I like the idea of the endontist - will your insurance cover that?