[squeakermansmom]

Help! Ds (he's 3) fell tonight and cracked his top, front tooth. Saw the pediatric dentist who said it was cracked up to the gumline with the nerve exposed. He couldn't tell if the they could repair the tooth with a root canal and a crown or if the tooth would have to be extracted. apparently he can't tell that until he does the x-ray which he doesn't want to do until he's prepared to repair/extract the tooth for fear that taking the x-ray will crack the tooth even more. here's my big concern: they are recommending GA with a pediatric anesthesiologist and that guy only works with my pediatric dentist on wednesdays. which means we have to wait 5 full days to have this repaired. they said we could do it with conscious sedation, but he would have to be restrained for an hour and he doesn't recommend that. ds seems to be ok most of the time with just ibuprofen, although he does have bouts of pain (must be when he touches his tooth with his tongue). other than the obvious fact of having to keep ds comfortable until we can get this repaired, i'm very worried that he will further damage a tooth that could potentially be repaired instead of pulled (over the next 5 days). So my question is: should we wait the 5 days and do the procedure with GA or should i try to find another pediatric dentist in the area that would perform the procedure earlier (as if that's even possible, not holding my breath)??? would you recommend doing this procedure with just conscious sedation??? any other suggestions? the thought of my ds losing his front tooth is just so disheartening. and to think we have to wait 5 days to try to save it b/c of a logistical problem really irks me.

:

 

[Oh the Irony]

hey mama, any update? sorry i didn't have any advice for you. how is he now?

 

[Smilemomma]

Jodi, I'm so sorry I didn't see this sooner. How is Joseph feeling? How did it go today?

Please PM me or email, just click the email thingie under my name if there's anything I can help with.

Poor little guy.

 

[squeakermansmom]

hey there. ds went in this morning - unfortunately they we're unable to save the tooth. he did great with the anesthesia though and seems to be recovering well. dh and i are thankful he's doing well, but mourning the loss of his old smile.

our dentist seems to be of the belief that missing one front tooth will not affect his speech in any way and that a partial would be for cosmetic reasons only. my concerns are r/t 1)speech problems 2)kids or adults making insensitive comments which probably won't bother him now but may affect him in kindergarten or first grade. 3)and as shallow as this sounds, i miss his little smile. we can't do anything right now anyway, so at this point i just plan on gathering as much information as i can on pros vs. cons of getting the partial. any opinions, info, research would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

 

[rose angel]

Jodi,
I am sorry for what you had to go through, and I hope your little guy is OK.
If it makes you feel any better, many kids start losing teeth by age 4 or 5, so having a missing tooth in Kindergarden shouldn't be a problem as far as teasing, etc.

 

[malamamama]

I feel you. My dd had her two front teeth extracted at age 2 1/2. We waited 8 months for her molars to be in far enough to attach the partial. In this time, her speech was affected, granted it was two teeth, not just one. Her enunciation was slurred and her tongue overcompensating. Within a week of having the partial in place, her speech became so much clearer.
I missed her sweet smile so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Her self esteem did not seem affected at this time and reactions were minimal.
However, about a month and a half ago, one of the teeth on the partial broke off and they removed the whole partial for repair and it took a month before she had it again. During this time, now age 4 1/2, she was very self conscious about it. She often had her fingers in her mouth, which she never had habit of before this time. And once when we were going on a tour of her new kindergarten school where she will be attending, she wondered aloud if anyone was going to notice? And at this age, many people did notice and ask her about them......They don't tease her, but they notice and ask and she realizes her difference. I was so relieved when she got the partial back and she kept saying how happy she was to have her new teeth.
I made it a point, when talking with her or when people asked about her teeth.....to talk about her teeth and partial in an upbeat manner, so that she didn't feel there was something wrong with her, but that it just was what it was......

So given our experience...I would highly suggest a partial. While some kids lose their teeth early, many kids don't lose their two top front teeth until 6 or 6 1/2. Her dentist will remove the partial when the adult teeth are ready to emerge.
HTH!

 

[simonee]

Jodi, would it be okay if you gave me that dentist's address so I can mail him the content of a few of my son's diapers? That guy should be forced to walk around with exposed nerves himself! Your story brought tears to my eyes, and I just want to hug little Joseph who for me will always have the smile from your siggy now. I hope everything will turn out okay.