DS chipped a tooth

[baymom]

DS got hit in the face at soccer practice yesterday and chipped his front (adult) tooth. He didn't say that it hurt, just that he got hit in the face with the ball, felt something gritty in his mouth, spit it out and then realized it was a part of his tooth. A jagged triangle is missing and the earliest appointment I could make was for tomorrow afternoon. I have no experience with this and was wondering if there are any special precautions we should take? Obviously, nothing tough to eat that requires biting off with his front teeth. Anything else?

[rlu]

When DS chipped his tooth, the dentist had us watch to ensure the tooth didn't turn grey. Otherwise the chip didn't need bonding or intervention. DS was less than 2.

When I chipped my front tooth in 8th grade, the dentist put on a bond and painted it to match the rest of the tooth. It has been simple enough to live with, just can't eat sugar daddies or anything sticky like that with that front tooth. (eta: I can eat fine with my front teeth, there may have been a day or two after the bond was put on that I had to be careful, short-term though)

There is dental wax you can buy at CVS-type stores to coat the sharp edge if your DS is having trouble with it cutting his lip or tongue but with an appointment tomorrow you might not need it.

eta: this stuff, but the wax we bought was not flavored. https://www.cvs.com/shop/personal-care/oral-care/dental-accessories/cvs-mint-flavored-orthodontic-wax-prodid-933824?skuId=933824

[smilequeen]

Stick to a soft diet and give him pain meds if he has pain...so just baby it until you are seen.

[lil_acorn]

is it a baby or adult tooth? I wouldn't be overly concerned if baby; if adult, I think you need to watch to see if it turns grey.

[khm]

DS got hit in the face at soccer practice yesterday and chipped his front tooth. He didn't say that it hurt, just that he got hit in the face with the ball, felt something gritty in his mouth, spit it out and then realized it was a part of his tooth. A jagged triangle is missing and the earliest appointment I could make was for tomorrow afternoon. I have no experience with this and was wondering if there are any special precautions we should take? Obviously, nothing tough to eat that requires biting off with his front teeth. Anything else?

Was it a baby or adult tooth?

My daughter chipped a new adult tooth. We didn't know until years later that she'd stunted the roots. We went to the dentist right away, and subsequent dental visits never showed an issue. (x-rays were always the back teeth).

Finally, at her ortho consult, he noticed it was ever so slightly a different color and a panoramic x-ray showed the bad roots. She ended up with a root canal.

Nothing we could have done to keep the roots alive, but it was weird not knowing about it for so long.

Not sure if this applies to your situation tho. Maybe just make sure you have the dentist check it now and later for changes?

[baymom]

Was it a baby or adult tooth?

My daughter chipped a new adult tooth. We didn't know until years later that she'd stunted the roots. We went to the dentist right away, and subsequent dental visits never showed an issue. (x-rays were always the back teeth).

Finally, at her ortho consult, he noticed it was ever so slightly a different color and a panoramic x-ray showed the bad roots. She ended up with a root canal.

Nothing we could have done to keep the roots alive, but it was weird not knowing about it for so long.

Not sure if this applies to your situation tho. Maybe just make sure you have the dentist check it now and later for changes?

OP here-- He's 12, so unfortunately, it's an adult tooth. I would never have thought to ask for a pano x-ray to look at the roots. Thanks so much for the suggestion!

Also, I'll pop into CVS for the wax if the jagged part his cutting his lip/tongue--thanks for the link/tip, rlu!

Will also watch to see if it turns grey--hopefully not!

[khm]

The thing is it took years for my daughter's to begin to discolor.

At 12 though, I'd assume the roots are grown. My daughter was much younger, I wanna say 6 or 7? So, her roots juuuuust started growing and died off at that point. The roots of her other front tooth were way longer.

I don't know why it took so long for problems to show up. It still isn't much different color-wise. It certainly isn't grey. Maybe is isn't completely dead? I don't know! I just remember being bummed that we assumed we were in the clear, and were wrong.

[squimp]

Did you call your dentist? I cracked a tooth right before Christmas and had to call my dentist on Christmas Eve eve, like 6 pm at night. Maybe it's the benefit of small town living, but I have called and gotten to an on call doctor or dentist several times over the years. He told me that if it didn't hurt it probably wasn't affecting the root, and to use that dental wax stuff if it was bothering me. I used the dental repair wax, because the edge was really sharp.

He did xrays and filled it with some kind of uv-activated plastic and you can barely tell now.

[georgiegirl]

DH chipped his front tooth at that age (12 or 13). Since he lived in a communist eastern country, nothing was ever done. As an adult he had it repaired.


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[essnce629]

DS1 chipped off half of his front tooth 5 years ago. It was an adult tooth. It was filed and bonded. It cracked off again a few years later after eating something hard, and then cracked off again YESTERDAY when he hit it on his hard water bottle. It's not causing him pain and isn't super sharp, so I'm waiting till tomorrow to see our regular dentist since she doesn't work Tuesdays and it's not an emergency (the first time it was and she came in after hours to see him).

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[ged]

similar to PPs, my daughter was maybe 9 when her adult front tooth was majorly chipped (a big triangle piece broke off). Went to doctor that day, they took xrays, looked ok...cosmetic dentist put piece back on. it fell off about a year or so later and was re-bonded. fast forward about 3 years, she needed a root canal. now things are OK, but she may need a crown when she gets older. morale of the story, don't worry too much but keep a semi-watchful eye on it over the years.

[o_mom]

OP here-- He's 12, so unfortunately, it's an adult tooth. I would never have thought to ask for a pano x-ray to look at the roots. Thanks so much for the suggestion!


You should not need a panoramic x-ray to look at the root. A regular x-ray can see this. DS3 had x-rays of his front teeth roots when he knocked them (ended up being removed, but they were baby teeth and much worse than what your DS's injury sounds like). A panoramic x-ray uses a lot of radiation relative to a standard dental x-ray, so I would not do it unless necessary.