Chipped tooth & bump on gum...tooth needs to be pulled

We all went to a new family dentist on Saturday. DS had fallen about 2 years ago and chipped his front tooth. It has always been a little lose since, but the dentist and doctor said if it wasn't bothering him to let it be. About 3 weeks ago when he had a cold we noticed a pea sized bump on his gum above the tooth and took him the doctor. She said it looked it was from either the initial trauma to the tooth or if he had been hit in the face, which had happened a few days prior when DD smacked him in the face with a toy. She suggested a dental check up and since our dentist is retiring we decided it was time to switch the whole family.

They took x-rays and examined the tooth, but the bump is now gone. Of course he is a drama king and knowing she was working in his mouth he kept saying his teeth hurt and needed Motrin. She confirmed the tooth is loose and said the x-rays show root damage to the baby tooth so she is sending him to a pediatric dentist to have it pulled. She said it would have fallen out quicker than normal, but doesn't want it to damage the adult tooth underneath it in the mean time. I am a little nervous about the procedure and costs since we don't have dental insurance. They open at 9am today, so I have to schedule a consult first. Has anyone else dealt with something similar? What should we expect? Is it very expensive?

BTW I also have to have a tooth extracted that my old dentist had done a root canal and crown on as well a filing about 1.5 years ago. Apparently is full of decay and she doesn't think their will be anything left to put another crown on after the decay would be dealt with so she is recommending the extraction. For me it is $100, but I figure for DS it will be more since we are going to a specialist.

 

Kristin - oh what fun! I don't have any experience with damage to baby teeth, but did want to mention that you might be surprised at the cost of the pedi dentist. Ours costs less than the adult dentist. Just FYI... and good luck getting your tooth pulled!

 

good luck! I'm curious as to how much it is... we've had a chipped tooth and it's now gray... it only happened 6 mo ago, I'm hoping it won't need to be extracted, but wow, your initial chip happened 2 yrs ago, I bet it was the recent hit that was the final blow to this tooth. I hope it's not a painful experience for him.

I also would say that some of our codes for visits with the pedi dentist are cheaper than mine...

 

He has his 1st appointment next week. The consultation is $50-$96 with a $25 off coupon from the phone book and the extraction itself is $130, so it is not as bad as I thought it could be. They said they may do it that day or require him to come back once the ped. dentist looks at him and the xrays as well as sees how he does while in the chair. We are going to push that they do it on the 1st visit because we know how DS is when he knows something is coming at the doctors so if we have to go back we are sure he will start to freak out.

For now we keep telling him he is going to a special dentist to help him with the loose tooth so the tooth fairy can come early to get that sick tooth from him. I know it is bad to somewhat bribe him, but it can help things go smoother.

 

glad it sounds like it's going to be a decent price. I had several teeth pulled in first grade so that they could get rid of some extra teeth in preparation to pulling permanent ones in 6th grade... anyway, I'm saying this b/c as a patient, I've been there! Make sure he brings is favorite lovey/teddy bear, I'm sure he'll do fine!!

 

Well in less than 10 minutes the tooth was out this morning. It took longer for the happy gas to relax him for them to give him a tiny shot to numb just in case because the root was dead, it was very loose, and there was an abscess forming. They had me hold his hands because he kept asking for me even though they typically have the parents wait in the waiting room. They had us give him Motrin and then Tylenol every 4-5 hours today. He was a little grumpy this morning, but within the last 2 hours he is back running around like the happy boy we know. He has been saying it hurt for the last week as we waited for the appointment since the dentist asked him if the tooth hurt and he wasn't eating so much and we are curious if he will start gaining weight since he has been so thin for the last few months. All in all it went better than we expected and they only charged $105.

 

I need a picture!


Seriously, it sounds like it went great! I'm glad it was affordable and I'm glad that it won't be bugging him anymore. And I'm glad they got it out before the absess happened hardcore. Did they give him antibiotics for the absess?

 

He did really good the rest of the night and was very happy with the Buzz Lightyear toy that the tooth fairy left him. He has been running around the house yelling "I love it. I love it. I love it." Since he is allergic to amoxicillin she said they were going to let the abscess drain naturally for a couple days.

Here is a before pic:
Before

Here is an after pic:

After

 

Great Googley Moogley is he cute.