My 3-year-old son chipped his front tooth - now we have problems...?!
Question:
My 3-year-old son chipped his front tooth - now we have problems...?
About 6 months ago my 3 year old fell and chipped one of his upper front teeth. We took him to the dentist and she said we should watch for gum or tooth discoloration, tooth looseness, pain, etc. All was fine until a month ago when he started to complain that his tooth was hurting. I took him to the dentist and they took an x-ray, which showed the roots of his 2 front teeth shrinking. She said this means his 2 front teeth will fall out within 6-12 months. He's only 3!!! She said his adult teeth will not come in any earlier - still about age 7 or so. But, she didn't seem to think there would be a problem with the huge gaping space he'll have after his teeth fall out. But, I've heard from other people that his other teeth will begin to move and may grow crooked, his adult teeth may come in crooked, etc. Has anyone gone through this before with their child? What did you do? What happened? Help!!
Answers:
Consult another dentist for a second opinion, preferably a pedodontist (children's dentist) if there's one in your area. I worked for a pedodontist for several years. It's entirely possible that his other primary (baby) teeth will move and not leave room for his permanent teeth to come in properly. However, a little appliance called a "spacer" can be made to keep the space open. He may be a bit young for a "flipper," but you can ask about that too. That's two little artificial teeth on a piece of plastic that fits in the roof of his mouth to replace the prematurely lost teeth and keep the space open for the permanent teeth. Good luck.