question about my childs teeth...

[glad2bamom]

Don't really know where to put this...I put it here.  My son, 3 years old, fell today at his grandparent's house.  He hit the side of the hot tub with his mouth...and his teeth were jammed a little into his gumline.  I immediately called his dentist, who acted like this was a common occurance, and told me that there wasn't really anything he could do.  I just need to ask some parents out there if this has ever happened to you?  I trust my doc, but his lip, gum, and jawline is swollen on the top.  I just don't want to pass it off as nothing, if it needs to be seen.  Should my dentist take more interest in this matter?  He is a pediatric dentist,  and I'm sure he's seen it all.  There was some bleeding, and it is very sore...but the bleeding has stopped now.  Just very tender and swollen.  Any comments??

[redynamite]

You're not paranoid.. just concerned.. No matter how much expertise a Dr. has, you know your child better than anyone else and if somethings out of place "WE WANNA KNOW WHY" and how to put it back!  Keep being insistant...because our kids can't really speak for themselves!

[lmroswell]

I don't think you will be able to tell if there was any damage done to the baby teeth until some time has passed.  If any teeth were damaged, you will eventually see some darkening of the tooth itself, but that will not happen over night, it takes days or weeks.  I would have him checked by his dentist or any dentist, if for anything, it would make everyone feel better.  Poor little guy, that has got to hurt.  Good luck...

[mungufuata]

And don't worry too much.  Baby teeth will fall out anyway.

[glad2bamom]

Update--went to the dentist this morning, I called him and he "reluctantly" said he'd meet me.  Then, when we got there, he said he was glad we came.  My son had lots, lots of pooled blood in his gum and in his lip.  He told me what to watch out for in case of infection, because his lip was busted.  I am glad I took him in...although there wasn't anything he can do now because of the swelling.  He does want to see him again in a couple of weeks and look at it once the swelling goes down.
Thanks for all the advice..I'm just a paranoid mom!

[myproblem]

This happened to my sister when she was about 2. My parents actually thought her tooth had been knocked out, and looked all over for it. The dentist took an x-ray, and found that it had been pushed back in all the way. About a month later, it started to emerge again on its own.

[borninquisitive]

My son had fallen down a few steps when he was about 1. His teeth went through his lip. We took care of it and it healed up well. Think this is common.

For swelling, I would let him suck on plenty of popcicles. It'll give him temporary relief and help reduce swelling. I would just keep an eye on it. If it doesn't get worse, it should be on it's way to getting better...albeit...always slower than we like. ;-)