Children often traumatize their front teeth. Oftentimes the adverse of these injuries may not be readily apparent at the time of injury.
SIGNS TO WATCH FOR INCLUDE:
Discoloration: may be gray, black or yellow. Such a color change is indicative of a change in the health of the nerve of the tooth. While no immediate treatment maybe necessary, these changes need to be closely monitored.
Gum Boil: this appears on the gum as a small pimple-like lesion indication that the nerve of the tooth has died and become infected. Immediate treatment may involve extraction or root canal therapy of the infected tooth.
Swelling and/or Pain: swelling and/or pain immediately following an injury is very common. However, swelling and/or pain that develops over several days to weeks following an injury requires immediate evaluation, as it may be indicative of an infection.
POSSIBLE SEQUELAE OF AN INJURY TO A PRIMARY TOOTH:
Because of the close proximity of the roots of the primary teeth to the developing permanent teeth, an injury to the primary teeth may result in damage to the underlying developing permanent teeth.
THIS DAMAGE MAY TAKE THE FORM OF THE FOLLOWING:
- Enamel Hypoplasia: appears as snowflake-like spot on front surface of permanent tooth Dilacerated Root: root of the permanent tooth is misshaped
- Impacted or Ectopic Tooth: permanent tooth fails to erupt or erupts in an abnormal position
- Arrested Development: permanent tooth fails to develop
While all these sequelae are relatively rare, careful monitoring of permanent tooth development is necessary.