My four year old son took quite a tumble. Now one of his front teeth is chipped and discolored. Should I whiten it or is there something else I should be doing? If he loses the tooth, do I need to get a space maintainer?
Elsie
Dear Elise,
I am glad you wrote. I can tell that you are a good mother and want to make sure you are doing the best for him. In this case, there is no need to do anything. Teeth whitening will not work on a tooth discolored from trauma. Even if it would, I wouldn’t recommend it for a child. They’re not likely to keep the trays in and that tooth will not last long anyway.
Unlike the rest of us, young children are not bothered by things like a discolored tooth. In fact, on the school yard, an injury is like a badge of honor, especially for boys. The grosser the better.
If the tooth falls out, you will not have to worry about a space maintainer. It is close to the time in which he would lose that tooth anyway, so you don’t need the added, unnecessary expense. The one time that your son would need a space maintainer would be if he lost a back molar. These have to stay in his mouth until he is around twelve years old. If that tooth was lost, you’d have to keep the space reserved. Otherwise, in the amount of time until his permanent molars come in, the other teeth will drift or tip into the opening causing overcrowding.
Unless the tooth develops an infection, I’d just leave it alone. If it does get infected, his pediatric dentist can just remove it.
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