4 1/2 Year Old with Greying Tooth

We've had the same thing happen (not with a toilet but with a swing :>)
My son that did it is 5 now. It could be 2 things :the tooth may die ,or it may have blood trapped in it if it bled. Don't worry about it, it's a baby tooth, right? I have a friend who's a dental hygenist. She says it's no big deal.My son's tooth looks totally normal now, but it did take a REALLY long time. Blessings!

I don't have much experience with children's teeth but I really doubt waiting till April is a big deal if he is not in pain. I had some trauma to my teeth when I was a teenager and one of mine got slightly grey. I have had some sensitivity in many of my teeth since, including this one, but very little pain. The dentist took x rays and the root looked fine so he then did a nerve velocity test, which technically indicated that there was no nerve response or that the tooth was indeed dead. He still didn't want to do anything about it though since the X-ray of the root looked fine and I really wasn't having any problems with the tooth. It is now over twenty years later, the tooth is still slightly grey but it has caused me absolutely no problems and never got any worse. It is perfectly strong and functions fine as well. Needless to say, I am happy that the dentist did not go ahead and recommend a root canal or cap and just recommended a "wait and see" approach. If there is a problem with the root in your son's tooth, infection is always possible but it is pretty unlikely that is a problem if your son is not in pain. If in doubt, I'd say just pay for a single X ray and evaluation of that area only without any other services for now. At that point the dentist can tell you if he/she recommends some sort of immediate action or if it can wait. In my experience, unless there is a lot of pain, most major dental work can be put off for a couple of weeks anyway. Maybe you'll even find out that nothing needs to be done at all. I would definitely get it checked out as soon as you get his insurance settled, if nothing else, and make the appointment as soon as you can as most dentists take a while to get in to anyway... especially for a first visit.

Good Luck,
Julie

Yes, dear, I have had that experience, but it was many years ago with my middle daughter, who was born in 1963. She was about your son's age when she did something similar and her tooth turned gray. The dentist THEN said to let it stay in the mouth for a spacer until the new tooth was ready to come in. Both my daughters had to have braces, so I figured that it wasn't THE tooth which caused that because her teeth were just crooked. I really don't think that holding off til your dental insurance will pay will hurt her at all, since my Julie kept hers for probably a couple of years. Good luck! Pansy

yeah it is usally due to nerve damage to the tooths nerves from what i understand. not really much you can do about it. i'd wait till april it should be ok to go then.

Hi F., my son did the same thing...only twice, hit the same tooth, but it was about age 2. I called the dentist & they said that they wanted to see him. They have to re-set the tooth to make sure it is still connected to roots or it will die. They had to do this twice with him. The second time was not as successful but it was a baby tooth so shortly after, he lost it anyway. It was not completely dead, but it had been through 2 accidents. A child should be seen at age 2 the first time with a dentist. I applaud you for getting him on your insurance. I would definately have him seen asap.

It is not a concern!! My daughter had the same thing happen to her, went to her dentist. He said yes it is dead and nothing they could do, being its a baby tooth and will fall out anyway. No need to go to the dentist.

Keep in mind this is a milk tooth. If there is any chance of damage the dentist will suggest removing it. So do have it checked when you plan kicks in. Good luck.

it should go back to normal. if there is no pain just take him to the dentist on april 1st when he is insured. i have had two nieces have this happen to their baby teeth and over time it went back to normal. i am not a dentist though. this is just a mother's advice.

I don't know about the graying part, but why wait to schedule the appointment? Can't you go ahead and call them, and just ask for the earliest available after 4/1? If your dentist is very busy, it might be weeks before you could get in. And the longer you wait to make the call, the farther away the appt might end up. I'd go ahead and call about the appointment, and just explain that you need it AFTER 3/31, as that is when his insurance becomes active. They shouldn't have a problem setting the appointment.
Best wishes to you and your little guy.

My daughter was 3 when she did something similar: her acrobatic act involved a marble floor though. Her tooth did the same thing, and yes it is a dying tooth. April 1st isn't that far away so go ahead and schedule an appointment with the dentist.

When my daughter went through it, her dentist ended up doing what was basically a root canal on the baby tooth and put a veneer (sp?) over it to hide the gray. It was one of her front teeth and it ended up falling out on its own when she was 5. Luckily her little body had already adapted and her permanent tooth came in early to that spot.

Good luck!

It does mean the tooth "died" and it should fall out on its own. You are in luck as it wasn't a permanent tooth. The dentist probably won't do anything for it anyway.
My nephew's tooth fell out about 6 weeks after it started to turn grey.

Hi,
I'm a Mom of a 6 year old boy. My son fell down the stairs (of my Ex's girlfriend's house) when he was 3 and a half and his fronth tooth got pushed back and turned grayish. I took him to the dentist just to make sure everything would be OK. Since it's a baby tooth, I wasn't too concerned and the dentist confirmed that. So, you're probably fine and you can wait until you get insurance. My son't tooth later turned yellowish but I believe that it will soon fall out as it should and his adult tooth will come in.

Hope this eases your concernes a little.

L.

as long as it's a baby tooth, I would wait until he is on the dental plan and then have him seen. They probably won't do anything anyway. Our pediatric dentist is in Coral Springs and he is excellent, if you need the name of someone. The exact same thing happened to my son when he was 2...only his tooth was actually chipped and discolored also. It looked bad in the baby pictures, but had no permanent effects. He is 14 now and has beautiful teeth!!

I'm a dental hygienist. We've seen this many times. The tooth has turned gray because of the trauma. It's still a primary tooth - his permanent teeth are not due to erupt for a couple of years yet. Just pay attention to your son. If he begins to complain it's throbbing - some children say it feels like the tooth has a heart beat - than you will know the tooth is dying and might need to be extracted. If he doesn't act as if it bothers him than leave it alone. There is nothing the dentist can do for it.

The nerve has died. It's not painful but when you have him on insurance should be seen. I would schedule appt now for once insurance begins so you don't have to wait another month.

F.-- the same thing happened to my 3 1/2-year-old son from a bounce-house collision, and one of his front teeth turned gray. I was planning to take him to the dentist to have it checked out, even though I don't think there's anything they can do except wait for it to fall out. But it seems like it's gotten less gray since it happened? I'm not sure if that's possible, but it looks like it. Maybe that means mild trauma?

I had a "grey tooth" when I was about 6 years old. Mine occured from running into my brother face first and our mouths clashing! I can't remember if I went to the dentist or not but I do remember that the tooth never hurt and it became really grey right before my tooth fell out. My adult tooth that grew in was fine and i have no issues becuase of my baby tooth dying. It is from the nerves in that tooth dying and so yes it turns grey. He will be fine and IDK what the dentist will say but it will be fine if you just wait for the tooth to fall out.

Don't worry, there is nothing you can do, and nothing the dentist would do either. My 3.5 year old has a grey tooth for over a year now, due to a bathtub accident, and I had the same thing when I was four due to my older brother head-butting me in the mouth. I took my son to the dentist when it happened, and he said there is nothing you can do about it, and as long as the tooth is in place and there is no pain, not to worry about it. The only thing you can do is wait for it to fall out and a nice shiny white one will grow in its place. The dentist said it is possible it will start whitening up again on its own, but mine never did, and nether has my son's after a year.

Do not worry, there is nothing you can do (or could have done) to stop the tooth from dying. If it becomes painful or bothersome, the dentist can pull it but as long as it doesn't bother him let it go. Once the tooth dies, and since it is a baby tooth it will fall out and a new tooth will grow in it's place (obviously, you knew that part, LOL)...
My 6 year old little boy fell off the jungle gym at the playground. When he did he knocked one of his top teeth loose (a baby tooth). Both the urgent care pediatrician, and his regular pediatric dentist told me the same information that I have repeated to you above. Except in his case, the tooth is not gray and hasn't come out yet. Hope this helps!

You could try seeing if a dentist will see you on a sliding scale or payment plan to pull the tooth. Or it my fall out on its own.

My 2 year old daughter fell on our hard wood floors right on to her two front teeth. They both turned a little grey and over time one turned more dark than the other. We took her to the dentist and he told us that they were indeed dead. Basically little kids have small roots on the teeth and if they fall and bump them they can break the root in two. Teeth need nutrients and such from your blood and indeed with the root broke there is no way to get the blood and nutrients and yes they slowly turn grey, dark grey, black and die.

In my daughters case they were a little grey and turned dark grey over a period of time but they never turned black. One was darker than the other and you could notice it. We let the tooth fall out on its own. In fact, what happens naturally is when the adult teeth come, they break the roots and the teeth die and they fall out.

It took a year for my daughter's teeth to loosen up enough (by the way they were always loose after she fell, they never got strong again) and finally they fell out.

It took forever for her new adult teeth to come back in. I would say it took 2 years for them to come in. She had no front teeth for several Christmas and School pictures. We always attribute the fall to the fact that she had no front teeth for so long, but it could have been a natural thing. I have seen kids take a very long time to get their adult teeth.

She is now 8 years old, turning 9 this summer, has two very beautiful front teeth, and you would never had noticed that she had lost her front teeth so early. It has not affected her in any visable way.

Keep an eye on the color to make sure nothing else is going on with his mouth or his other teeth, but my two cents is that you can wait until your dental insurance kicks in to take him in for a visit. Most likely they are going to tell you that they are going to leave them alone and wait for them to fall out naturally. His adult teeth should push them out of the way when they come in. I hope this helps.

Hi F., my son did a similar thing when he was 4 - he hit his tooth on the side of the pool. It slowly turned grey. He did not have ongoing pain with it but I called the dentist anyway. He ended up doing an xray - the adult tooth can be damaged when this happens - also the tooth can get an infection. His tooth was fine, just grey, so we ended up having a veneer put on it because he wouldn't be losing that tooth for a while. The veneer was not a big deal - it didn't take long - my son was not phased. The dentist we go to is Dr.Arnold in Ft. Lauderdale - he is VERY good with children! Also, as far as the cost, we use a discount dental plan so we save up to 80% off the office fees - the great thing about the plan is that you can use it right after you sign up and can cancel anytime. If you have questions, let me know!

Do you already have a dentist that you use? Go ahead and call them and get advice, and go ahead and schedule his appointment for a date after his insurance kicks in-- you shouldn't have to wait for the insurance to be in place to make the actual appointment for a future date. I do agree with what you've read that the tooth is dead so I'm not sure what else they'll be able to do other than leave it or pull it (thank goodness it's a baby tooth) but I would for sure call your dentist. If you don't have one yet, call ANY dentist!!

My daughter hit her tooth on the sink and chipped it when she was 3. I took her to the dentist because of the chip but it started to turn dark too. HE said it was not a problem unless it did not start to get better. Hers got dark than started to turn back to normal over a few weeks time. He said that when it was hit blood may have puddled into the tooth then stopped and that was what made it turn dark. If it does not start to get normal in a couple of weeks take him in.

My 3 1/2 yr old fell and hit her tooth, we went to the dentist 2 times since it happened, he said it is a dead tooth but unless it causes her pain we dont have to do anything she will eventually lose it on her own. It's been like that for 2 years and no problem so far! Hope it goes ok for your little one!
S.

Hi F.~

I dont know the other mamas are saying, but I think it's fine to wait until you get the appt.in April. I'm assuming you're talking about a baby tooth. It's going to fall out anyway, and then he'll grow a nice, healthy permanent tooth!

When I was a child, I fell running in my stocking feet through my Grandmother's kitchen and knocked one my front teeth. The tooth turned grey and eventually almost black. It could fall out prematurely, but mine stayed in until my teeth naturally started falling out. The good part of this story is that my adult tooth came in just fine!
It is a common occurance. I am sure if you call your denist they can tell you if anything can be done, but you probably just have to wait it out. If he has never been to the dentist, get him as soon as your insurance kicks in no matter what. You will probably need to call now to get an appointment. We go to Dr. Golstein, a pediatric dentist on Hiawassee. He is not in network for us, but will still file with our insurance and everything is fully covered. Just check with your plan and the Dr. office.
Hope this helps,
JT