Mouth injuries

To make a long story short, Vivi has managed to bump her mouth twice in about 3 days. She now has a lump on the gum above one of the teeth that she bumped. It only seems to bother her when it will get her attention and she doesn't seem to have a fever or anything. It also doesn't seem to prevent her from eating so it can't hurt but so bad.

All of that being said, does anybody know if a dentist would even actually do anything? I took her in after she broke her other front tooth at 18 months and they barely even looked at it. Obviously, if she seems to be developing an infection I will take her in but I don't want to haul her over there if they aren't going to even really look at it.

 

I would just keep an eye on the lump. If it does not go down or grows within the next week, I would take her in.

My boys were messing around and DS1 mouth ended up hitting the back of DS2's head. At the time it bled and he recovered quickly. About a month later, I noticed his front teeth turning grey and I immediately took him to the dentist. They confirmed it was dead (with x-rays) but still intact so they just keep an eye on it. They also said it looks like his adult teeth were not damaged by the trauma.

They just told me to keep an eye on the gum area and if it becomes swollen to bring him in asap and they would pull it. They told me he will most likely loose it earlier than normal.

That was over a year ago. The one tooth looks normal but the other one is still grey. They went to a new dentist and she told me the same thing; keep an eye on it.

 

That's what I was figuring they would say and what I had been leaning towards. I was just hoping to confirm what my instincts said. Thanks!

We got lucky that she didn't kill the tooth she broke a year and a half ago (that we know of). I don't know that we can get that lucky twice!

 

I would probably at least call the dentist and see if they think she should be brought in. Ellie went through a phase where she banged her front teeth repeatedly. A bump on the gums over the injured tooth was one of the things we were told to look for, and let them know if it developed.

 

I would go to the dentist, I'm a hygentist and we always tell the parents color change in the injured tooth is fine but a bump on the gums most likly indicates an infection. She would need either a kiddie root canal to try and save the tooth or just have it pulled. Good luck but please get it checked out!

 

It actually seems to have improved well. The lump is shrinking (almost gone now) and the color is back to normal. I will be keeping a close eye on it. If there is any sign that it is getting worse or not getting any better, we'll get her in to see the dentist.


ETA: Thanks for the info! I'll definitely be keeping a closer eye on it.

 

Update:
Since it wasn't getting better, I took her in Monday and there was an obvious abcess at that point. We got referred to a pediatric dentist who saw her today and she has to have both front teeth removed this Friday. Apparently, the damage from her injury at 18 months old was more extensive than we realized and the bumps last week just brought them to light. The good news is that xrays don't currently show any problems with the permanent teeth. She'll just have to wait a little longer than most for them to grow in.

Thanks for the info and keeping me on the alert!

 

This happened to DS. He actually fell at school and hit one of his front top teeth on a table. It did chip a bit, but not too badly. It did not discolor at all. The dentist said to keep an eye on it and to look out for a bump on the gumline above the tooth. 3 weeks later, there was indeed a bump! So he had to have the tooth removed. He was 3 at the time, and he is 5 now. Still no permanent tooth peeking through (didn't expect it yet, anyway!) It was a very simple procedure and DS didn't even cry at all, even with the novacaine (needle). The tooth came with hardly any pressure since it was a baby tooth. Seriously took all of 10 seconds, not even that! The worst part of it was (is, still) people asking me questions about why he "lost his front top tooth" at such a young age. Don't know how many times I had to re-tell the story!! Annoying, lol.

Good luck on Friday!!

 

Thanks! It was actually last Friday and she did really well. They wouldn't let us stay back with her but it took less than 10 minutes probably for them to remove both teeth. She was back acting like nothing had happened by bedtime. They did say that the permanent teeth might actually take a little longer to push through than they otherwise would have since the gum will toughen up.

I'm sure we'll get the questions about why they are gone at some point but I already deal with the "it's twins!" comments and "wow you have your hands full" and all that other stuff that we here so it's just one more question to duck!