Hello,
My son, who is 7 months old, is at the stage where he pulls himself up to stand on everything in the house. He's constantly falling down and banging his head it seems. I can't believe what just happened though. An hour ago, he was standing up, holding onto the seat of the glider and fell backwards hitting his head on the
floor. His tooth fell out, root and all! But he didn't even hit the tooth, just the back of his head. He seems fine otherwise. I spoke to our family who is
a dentist and he said it's fine, probably happened because baby's have soft jaws. Still, I find it so weird since he didn't even hit the tooth. I feel so bad for him. Has anyone else had a child loose the entire tooth at such a young age? Did it get infected or anything immediately after it happened? Was it a sign of some other problem with the gums/jaw later on?
Thanks,
S.
2-6-08 Hello again everyone, Yes, you all have brought up my same fears. I was very worried about concussion and watched for all of the signs, spoke first to the triage nurse and then the pediatrician. But there's, thankfully, nothing abnormal about his behavior. I was about to rush him to emergency that evening but after speaking with the nurse, my sister-in-law who has run a day care for 15 years (and seen many awful things like this) and my brother-in-law who is a pediatric dentist, I decided my son was fine. I did actually save his tooth in milk right away (per my day care sister-in-law). But, my brother-in-law who is the dentist said my son is too young to replace the tooth. Had he been a bit older, there's a chance the tooth could have been replaced. At seven months, he's too wiggly and there's too much chance of infection or the tooth falling out and him choking on it. So, as of today he is ok, but missing one tooth.
2-4-08 Thanks to all of you for sending advice, and making me feel better about what happened. I brought my son to the dentist yesterday. He said it didn't appear that any of the root was left in his mouth. As mentioned in this post, he said that a baby's jaws are just soft. He must have hit the upper jaw when he fell backwards. Or, he could have hit the tooth on something else earlier in the day and Ididn't notice, then this fall made it come out. The dentist also said it's not a sign of some larger problem with his jaw, etc. which was primarily what I was worried about. I spoke to the Pediatrician's office today as well. They said not to worry about him hitting his head unless his pupils were not the same, he was vomiting, extremely fussy, etc. I still feel so bad about it, but I'm glad that overall he's ok. He doesn't even seem to notice of course! Thanks again.
Just watch for signs of concussion, like throwing up, passing out, or dizziness/problems with locomotion. I would be worried with a fall that hard to the back of the head that it would knock out a tooth! Good luck.
Babies hit their faces, heads, jaws, and teeth on anything and everything possible - and yes, children do often lose baby teeth many years before the teeth are actually ready to fall out. Be thankful that your baby lost the whole tooth as opposed to chipping and/or cracking it which would cause LOTS of pain and probably warrant sedation and dental surgery. There is nothing wrong with his jaw or gums, and no, he will not get an infection. You don't see children that lose their baby teeth getting infections, do you? If that were the case, children wouldn't lose their teeth. He probably DID hit the tooth, as a hit to the back of the head would not just cause a tooth to spontaneously fall out.
He will have a delightful little missing tooth hole until his adult teeth start coming in between 5 and 6 years old- all the other kids in school will think he is the coolest because he lost his tooth before everyone else! A single missing tooth will not cause any speech issues or delay either. Think of it as one of your child's special features now!
Please make sure that you contact your pediatrician. Hitting the back of your head can cause a concusion or worse. As for the tooth, if you keep the area clean it sould not be any worse than when the tooth falls out naturally. Take care.
I would check specifically with a pediatric dentist just to be sure that everything is really okay and that there is nothing that you need to do. I always thought that if you retained the tooth and got to the dentist ASAP, they could put it back in, but maybe they don't do that with baby teeth? Poor little guy! Is his head okay? I'm not sure where you are located, but I know a great pediatric dentist in El Dorado Hills. If this isn't too far from you, look up Magic Smiles Dentistry and ask for Dr. Vickie Sullivan. She's awesome! Sorry, I just noticed the update that you posted! Nevermind!!!
I would call your pediatrician for advice and comfort. They are ususally more than happy to reassure you if there's no worry and to tell you what to look for in terms of infection or other complications.
Hi There,
I didn't quite have the exact same experience but when my daughter was 7 months old, she could pull herself to stand also. One time she did this and fell over and her gums began to bleed. I thought nothing of it until her top front teeth began to come in a couple of days later. As they grew in, they were a grayish color. One lightened up and the other remained gray. A few weeks later as I was feeding her, I noticed that at least half of her upper front tooth was gone. I took her to my dentist. He said she probably had a fracture from the fall (which is rare at that age)and that was why the tooth chipped off. Perhaps he had already injured his tooth and the jarring of the fall knocked it out?
Oh my this is actually the first time I hear of this. I will ask around. If I have a different response than your family dentist I will definate inform you.
My girlfriend's son's tooth waa knocked out during a fall when he was a little more than a year old. She learned from her dentist that if you put the tooth into a glass of milk, the dentist can re-attach it. I'm not sure how this works, but it has to be done within 24 hours of the tooth coming out. Good luck!
i would imagine it's his lower front tooth @ 7 months. you say he didn't bump it but he must of bumped against his uppper jaw (gums) to knock it out. bone is soft in infants but when he hit the back of his head his jaw must of closed hard causing his tooth to get knocked out by the opposing jaw. you can check to see if there's any marks or cuts on the opposing. also at that age the roots are not formed it's just mostly the crown of the tooth held tightly with more gums rather than a long root in the bone.
anyways don't worry he should be fine. by the way i'm a dentist and i have seen teeth knocked out as young as 10 months and there were no dental problems.
Hi S.,
my son was 10 months old and fell on a heater vent and popped his front top baby tooth out. I was sickened! We rushed him to a pediatric dentist and he was able to place the tooth back into his gums and save it! Of couse the tooth later calcified but he had his front tooth until he was 5 years old. It was a tad whiter than the rest. But looked completely normal. He had no problems with his permanant teeth growing in. Contact your denist immediately.
Best,
C.
Similar thing happened to my daughter. Her tooth had actually knocked back up into her gum but it looked like it was gone- we couldn't see it. There was tons of blood! By the next day it had come down half way. I freaked and took her to the dentist. It's really no problem except that they won't get their adult teeth until 6 or 7 yo. I think it happens more often when their teeth just come down. You want to make sure the area doesn't get infected- I guess just try to keep it clean and he should have another tooth in there in about 6 yrs!
