Front teeth broken off

Frith

My son fell off his bike on Tuesday evening. Face patched up (stitches) but work on his eye teeth that were snapped off will be ongoing...

Have any readers lost their front teeth? What has worked for you?

So far he’s had something daubed on the sharp edge of one (that lost about 5mm in length). That tooth is hurting a great deal.

The other eye tooth is much worse. About 10mm snapped off but what is left is wedge shaped so missing thickness at the back. The nerve was hanging out so the dentist removed that. She is not allowed to drill due to Covid. That tooth looks dreadful but is pain free. 

The dentist was reluctant to do more as my son had only come out of hospital a few hours before and she was trying to work round his stitches. She also wants the swelling to go down (very fat lip!) 

Toothsmith

How old is he?
There are so many variables in tooth trauma cases that other people's experiences are probably not that much use to you, as advice & treatments others have experienced will be many and variable depending on the individual circumstances of each injury.
One of the most crucial things in the future prognosis of the tooth/teeth is how old he was at the time of the injury and the state of development of the tooth at the time.

Frith

He is 19 and in excellent physical health.

One eye tooth (what we might now call Big Tooth) had been a problem previously and needed a filling in the back. This was done last year but had remained “jumpy” and painful at times. It is even more jumpy now!

Little Tooth had been fine. It is pain free now. 

He has no other fillings, no braces etc. 

Toothsmith

'Eye teeth' is a name usually given to canine teeth (The pointy ones at the edge of the smile) This looks like a broken central incisor.

Being 19, the root of the tooth should have closed up, so root filling, if necessary, shouldn't be that difficult assuming no root fracture.

Be guided by the dentist who can see everything and has the x-rays rather than random folk on an internet forum though.

Frith

You learn something every day - I always thought those teeth were eye teeth! 

He had x rays at hospital and at the dentist. He passed out at hospital in the x ray department so his knowledge is sketchy but he was told the roots were fine and his teeth “alive” at that point. 

By “closed up” do you mean the gum should have healed and closed in around the teeth? Or that the nerve free root will be ok? 

Toothsmith

Frith said:

You learn something every day - I always thought those teeth were eye teeth! 

He had x rays at hospital and at the dentist. He passed out at hospital in the x ray department so his knowledge is sketchy but he was told the roots were fine and his teeth “alive” at that point. 

By “closed up” do you mean the gum should have healed and closed in around the teeth? Or that the nerve free root will be ok? 

Neither.
If a child is quite young and the teeth pretty new, the root end of the tooth hasn't finished developing yet. If a tooth is damaged at that age, and the nerve dies it can be very difficult to successfully root fill the tooth with anything that will last more than a few years.If the tooth has been there a few years, development of the root will have finished, and root filling will be more predictable.

At 19, your son's root will almost certainly be properly closed - but I don't know for sure as I can't see him. 

Frith

Things have taken rather a painful turn.

Big tooth (with nerve) is now giving attacks of excruciating pain lasting up to 5 mins requiring him to lie down. If that pain is a 9, in between times, the pain goes down to a steady 2. The gap between pains and the intensity of the pain has been increasing all evening.

We’ve phoned the dentist 111 but they seem unconcerned. 

comeandgo

What I found helped me when I was in extreme pain with tooth ache was hold cold water in my mouth until it was warm and then spit it out.  Then more cold water.  I sat in the car with iced water in bottle and bucket to spit into.  Luckily my husband drove me.  

mda99das

It seems as though the nerve needs to be removed following trauma. Where abouts in the country are you?

Frith

Welsh Marches.

Still on maximum painkillers but we have managed to leave the house today. 

Other injuries are healing up nicely, 

Frith

5 days in