Help for Chipped Toddler Tooth

Updated on November 18, 2008
N.C. asks from Chicago, IL
20 answers

This past weekend, as my 22-month-old daughter was playing, she fell, hit her face on the floor, and chipped one of her front teeth (small chip, but noticeable). There was no blood or pain. Actually, she cried for a second because she was scared, but she got up after I comforted her and wanted to play again. I was able to find the tiny chip from her tooth and am holding on to it.

Can there be anyting done, cosmetically, regarding this? My concern is that since her tooth will stay like this until her permanent one comes in, that it might affect her speech (she already has a good vocabulary) or she may get teased as she grows up and starts school. If something can be done, does anyone have any suggestions for good pediatric dentists? And if so, are there any in the Skokie/Morton Grove area or Edgebrook/Jefferson Park area? Thank you, in advance.

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

So What Happened?

Thank you to everyone for all your suggestions and advice. I took them into consideration.

To ease my mind, we did go see a dentist (Dr. John Kenney in Park Ridge), and I'm glad we did. It was a 5-minute procedure, where he put some sort of composite to help protect my daughter's chipped tooth. Actually, he said that she was pretty lucky that the nerve wasn't affected because the chip came pretty close to the nerve in her tooth. She did cry during it, but was not in any pain, only scared. But when it was all done, she said, "all done!" and even "thank you." Once again, she was ready to play with the many toys in the waiting room. Now, although her tooth doesn't look exactly the way it did, it looks much better than when she had the chip.

I'm definitely glad we went in, just to make sure nothing serious was affected. We'll be going back in 2 weeks for a follow-up and then get her started on her regular check-ups.

Featured Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.E.

answers from Chicago on

Dear N.,

I have a daughter that had done the same thing. I took her into a pedatric dentist and said that it would be fine. She had acually chipped both of her front teeth. (She looked like she had fangs.) She had no speech trouble at all. She is now 8 and perfectly fine. If you are really concerned take her to the dentist. But from past experenice she should be just fine. Good Luck!!!

D.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.H.

answers from Chicago on

From teacher to teacher you already mentioned that these are not her permanent teeth and she will begin to shed her teeth around age five. There is no harn done to her permanent teeth because she had an accident they are not rotten. She will be just fine keep her self esteem raised and she will be fine. Do not worry children have a way of never caring about superficial things at that age her personality will shine.

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.M.

answers from Chicago on

I love Dr Shane Fisher. He's located at 4833 Church in Skokie. ###-###-####.
He's a pediatric dentist affiliated with Children's Memorial. Most ped dentists want to see kids by 18 months anyway, so sounds like you're due for a visit.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.E.

answers from Chicago on

You dentist maybe able to just build the tooth back up. My husband chipped his tooth and the just built the tooth back up. I do not think they will reattach the broke off piece.
It was called bonding. Check out this website. http://www.mynewsmile.com/cosmetic/broken_front_tooth.htm

S.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.

answers from Chicago on

My son chipped his tooth on the edge of the bathtub at 18 months. I about went through the roof! There's not much to be done. As long as the tooth doesn't discolor or seem loose you should probably just live with it. The sharp edges will wear down and it will be smooth again soon. My son's teeth are a bit uneven now, but certainly not to the point where it will affect his speech. You can probably already tell whether that will be a problem for your girl - if you sense it is, they might be able to fill it in a bit. However, if it's not, it's almost certainly more trouble than it's worth. I never saw a dentist about my son's tooth, but I did talk to one on the phone and was reassured.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

B.M.

answers from Chicago on

Hi. Dr. Joseph Zucchero is a pediatric dentist in the Resurrection Professional Building on the 5th floor. I'm sure if you google his name you'll get the exact room and phone number.
He's been there forever and is great with children! My 6 & 3year old boys see him.
Good luck! -B. M.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.A.

answers from Chicago on

My almost 3 year old also has a chipped front tooth. I took her to a pediatric dentist a year ago. He suggested we wait until she was at least 3 before meddling with it. The trauma of having them dig in her mouth at such a young age wasn't worth it. He stated her tooth would be fine for a while and they would keep an eye on it.

Dr. Bob Stone in Bolingbrook- Grove Dental.

Good Luck!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

G.H.

answers from Chicago on

Since it's a baby tooth you have no problems Take pictures of her to remind her as she grows what happened. You'll all laugh about it when she's older (how cute she is with the little chip out). Thank goodness it wasn't an adult tooth mom.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.A.

answers from Chicago on

Dr. Michael Crisscione (spelling might be wrong) is a fabulous dentist - His office is in the medical building at Old Orchard Mall in Skokie. They have their own underground lot so parking is never an issue.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.A.

answers from Chicago on

She is a toddler and you should never waste money on making your kids look good unless it was a permanent tooth. Chances are the dentist will tell you that you should just wait it will fall out.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.B.

answers from Chicago on

My daughter also had a chipped tooth. It must be x-rayed to make sure the root is intact, as this can affect the adult tooth. We had the chip filled in with a filling (it looked great) but then after another fall. . . .she ended up losing her tooth. I was devastated, but she was not at all. Her injury had turned into an abcess that can affect the brain! Her speech is affected, with lazy s's but they are getting better. She will turn 3 in Jan. I would say that I was far more upset about the whole thing, and she is not teased, as kids are excited and fascinated to lose their teeth. They think she's ahead of the game! I hope this works out for you.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.C.

answers from Chicago on

I'd have the dentist take a look just to ease your mind that there's no damage to the nerve. They can use a bonding agent to restore the tooth to it's natural shape, but they may want to wait a bit to do that when she's a little bit older.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.S.

answers from Chicago on

Dentistry for Kids at Peterson and the Kennedy. Their phone is ###-###-####. There are three dentists in the practice, all of whom I've had good interactions with.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.G.

answers from Chicago on

Yes, it can be fixed. My son chipped his permanent tooth soon after he got it. We went to a dentist who added something to the tooth. It looks very real. I can't tell the difference between the real tooth and the fake part.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

E.S.

answers from Chicago on

Same thing happened to my neighbors son when he was around 18 mos. She took him to the dentist and they said it will be fine. He has no speech problems at all. Your child should be fine. Actually the cute thing that came from it all is his nickname which has stuck (he is now 5)...Bubba! It should be fine to wait on it until it comes out.

L.H.

answers from Chicago on

I worked for a pediatric Dentist a few years back. Sometimes they can bond it and sometimes they can't, all just depends. Just make sure that the tooth doesn't change color or wiggles. That would be a sign of something more severe. I would take your child in just to be safe. They will probably just examine her and try to take an x-ray if they can.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.L.

answers from Chicago on

My daughter did the same thing about 2 years ago (she's now 5). I spoke with the dentist about it, and he said he could fix it easily and she would have no pain. He said it should not affect her speech if I decided to not have it fixed. The only reason to fix it would be for cosmetic reasons. I decided not to do anything, and she has no speech problems.

J.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.B.

answers from Chicago on

N. ,

I had a simliar problem with my 18mnth son (now 5) however he was running and triped face first into a pole . I found a peds dentist who is awesom with kids especially scared kids . Just like one of the mom's said , my 3 children (5,3 and 1 ) go to Dr. Joseph Zucchero located at Resurrection Professional Building on the 5th floor .
###-###-####....Take a look at his website you will be happy with what you see .www.drzucchero.com

Dr Z recommends seeing his patients as young as 6mnths if taking a bottle to bed . If not between the ages of 1-3 .

I will be taking my daughter who is turning 1 with my boys later this month .
Please feel free to contact .

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.O.

answers from Chicago on

the same thing just happened to my 3 year old son about a month ago. the chipped area was sharp and kept cutting his lip. the dentist we go to filed it down (which took no more than 20 seconds), he said that putting a crown or mold on it would only last at best 2 days and we'd be back again. the filing did away with him cutting his lip, it hasn't affected his speech, and he likes to use it as a conversation starter when people ask about it:)

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.W.

answers from Chicago on

I have had two accidents with children and teeth. First child lost entire front tooth at 18 months. I felt that it did affect his speech but that was the whole tooth. Second kid, chipped front tooth. Small but noticeable. I took her to pediatric dentist and he put a small cap-like thing on her tooth. This was to prevent any cavities forming and to protect the tooth. My dentist was in the south suburbs. I can't recommend any dentist close but do recommend that you get your child checked out. The cap was not noticeable at all. Good luck

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions

Related Searches