4yo broke two teeth at roots. What to expect?

[SoHappy]

I searched the archives and didn't find exactly what I was after, so I'm here.

My 4yo ds smacked his face into his cousin's knee and broke his two front top teeth at the roots. I guess it didn't hurt much, but I noticed one was loose when we were brushing, so he told me what happened, and he went to the dentist the next day. The x-rays showed one broken all the way across, and the other about 2/3 across. Both breaks are right near the roots.

I wasn't at the appointment, dh was. Here's what dh reported: The position of the teeth is good, so the biggest concern will be bacteria growth in the area we can't see, buried near the break.
The teeth will eventually discolor. It could take as little as 2 months, or up to 18 months. At that time, they will need to be pulled.

Once the teeth are gone, he will be without teeth until age 7 or 8, when his new ones grow in.

Does this info sound right/complete? Anything else we should know? I'm concerned about maintaining the spacing -- should I be? What can be done with that? Do they use appliances on somebody so young?

Also, speech development. He already has trouble with certain sounds (like "L" and "R"). Should I be concerned and are there steps to take?

And, finally, when the teeth have to come out, is it an icky, painful procedure? Do they just use a local anesthetic?

Luckily, ds is a wonderful patient. Dh said ds was actually excited about losing his teeth -- he can't wait to put the teeth under his pillow and score some cash for them.

Thanks for any help. I'm worried about my sweetie pie and his gorgeous smile.

[malamamama]

That is the sweetest quote from your ds :sunshine :heartbeat
Ohhh...poor thing...amazing that he didn't feel any pain, huh?

I don't really know much about those broken teeth.

What I can share with you is about the extractions. I have a toothless almost 3 yr old right now:D

The extractions of her two top front teeth were due to absesses.
She was numbed with a shot and in and out of the dentist office in 30 minutes. There seemed to be no pain whatsover. In her case there was very little blood and the teeth came out SO easy. She was bouncing around an hour later when the numbing wore off. We rinsed with salt water often and she healed quickly!
We will be "installing" a "kiddie partial". (Two fake teeth that are attached to a wire that is mounted to her back molars.) When it is time for her adult teeth to come in, the dentist will remove the partial.

As for the spacing, I've been told that the front teeth loss do not create space problems like the molars. As for the speech, I once was told that you should get the partial in within a few months. In my dd's case her back molars are not in far enough to attach the bracket. So we are going in after 4 months to see if we can do it. I too was concerned about her speech. Our dentist said that he has seen kids older than her have no problems with regaining their speech....I have also read that left vacant too long, they learn to over compensate with the tongue and then don't lose that habit...as for "R"s, you don't really use your front teeth for that one. I was double checking b/c my dd doesn't pronounce her "R"s correctly yet either.

So a kiddie partial is key with the concern of speech.

Since possible bacteria is a concern, I would read up on absesses just so that you know what to watch for. In my dd's case, her absesses occurred above two capped teeth. I could barely see the absesses, but one day she stopped eating, drinking, and bfing and the next day, she had a slight fever and her lip swelled. I called the dentist and he saw her immediately and we took action....Also Smilemomma talked about infections in a recent thread....about how orofacial infections can spread without any obvious signs. The thread is called "absess any options"

That's great that your ds is such a good patient :toothy
And yeah, it's kind of difficult seeing them lose their toothy smiles, but his little spirit will shine no matter!!!!!

[SoHappy]

Thanks, I feel better. I really appreciate your input. I hadn't thought to read up for the possibility of an abcess, and I'm glad you mentioned it. I hate it when something comes up and I don't feel prepared to respond to it.

I guess you and I will be the moms of the Toothless Wonders. I'm glad your dd is doing well, too.

[malamamama]

As for the reading of absesses...its all right here at MDC. Smilemomma has great, informative posts. Keep posted on how its going with your ds!!!