My ds who is 4 fell off the bed and hit his jaw/mouth area on the floor. It was carpeted. I was not there only my dh and his cousin. He did have a little cut on his upper gum right above his center teeth and complained of one the center upper tooth hurting when he ate. It's been two weeks and the cut is completely healed, of course and he says the tooth doesn't hurt anymore. It's not loose either. Tonight while brushing his teeth, I notice the two upper middle teeth are slightly discolored... noticeably darker than his other teeth. I am alarmed because I heard that teeth will turn black when the tooth is dying. It's not black but it is noticeably darker at close sight. I normally brush his teeth in a different bathroom where the light isn't as bright and so it could be that those two teeth were slightly discolored prior to the fall. I will be taking him to the dentist but I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with something like this.

By Carolk on Friday, February 13, 2004 - 11:11 am:

My son fell when he was 3 and had some discoloration. It looked light gray. Dh and I were also worried that it was dying and decided to take him to the dentist. She checked his teeth and said that they were fine and just looked bruised from the fall. He's almost 5 now and his teeth are just fine and all white. You might just want to have a dentist take a look at it. Ds said he was fine too, but we were just playing it safe. HTH

By Tklinreston on Friday, February 13, 2004 - 12:45 pm:

Carol - I did some research last night on the net and did read that trauma can "bruise" the teeth and within 6 weeks the color will turn back to normal. How long did it take for your his teeth to turn white again? and how hard was his fall?? Did your dentist just look at his teeth or take x-rays? My ds' teeth are definitely gray when I looked at this am but not loose. Sorry for all the questions.. I am just soo worried. I'm taking him to a pediatric specialist but he can't see us until next week. Thanks!

By Cheerio on Friday, February 13, 2004 - 02:15 pm:

My 2 year old fell this summer and hit her mouth on a wooden toy box. I didn't see the fall but she definitely hit her mouth hard, busted her front lip and cut her gums. Her front tooth and the one right next to it were injured and were definitely loose. I took her to the dentist the next day and he said to just avoid having her bite into anything for 2 weeks to let them reset themselves. We went back for a follow up 6 weeks later and he said they had tightened up but the pulp was still bruised and that was the reason for the slight gray shade. He said the biggest thing to watch for is any type of pain or blister on the gum or unexplained fever. All of which can signal an absess. It's about 6 months after her fall and her teeth are definitely still a shade different from her other teeth. It's not that noticeable unless you really stare at them. I'm sure he'll be fine, especially if they weren't loosened. My daughter even hit her mouth a few times since and they've been fine.

By Kay on Friday, February 13, 2004 - 02:17 pm:

My ds 'bruised' his two front baby teeth, and I was concerned as well at the gray color. His permanent teeth came in beautifully. He's now almost 20 years old with a gorgeous smile (some thanks go to his orthodontist )

By Tklinreston on Friday, February 13, 2004 - 02:49 pm:

All of your emails are sure making me feel better and more optimistic. Thanks.

By Carolk on Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 10:31 am:

Joyce, I don't remember how long it was before his teeth went back to white, but I don't think it took too long. He hit his mouth on the floor and there was blood around his teeth on the gums. They weren't loose. The dentist just looked at them, no x-rays were taken. I think we might have given him tylenol for any pain he was having, but other than that he didn't seem to have any trouble eating. We were just worried about the gray color and thinking it could have killed the nerve or something like that. HTH

By Andyjoy on Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 10:56 pm:

My younger sister fell on concrete steps and "bruised" her front tooth when she was 3 1/2. Her tooh stayed slightly brownish until she was about 5 when it turned white again before becoming loose and coming out!

By Joanne on Wednesday, May 5, 2004 - 02:10 pm:

My daughter (3 years old) had a similar experience as the first post. She fell off her bed and hit the railing. Her lip was cut open and she complained that her tooth hurt (but it wasn't loose). A week later, her lip healed, but her tooth started to turn brown and then grayish. I took her to a family dentist who told me that the tooth was dead and might need to be pulled, but he wanted her to be seen by a pediatric dentist because they are trained to deal with traumas. So, I took her to the pediatric dentist, who tapped the tooth (no pain) and told me that the tooth wasn't dead, but that she bruised it. He said that the color may or may not return to white and it might even get darker (it's been 2 weeks since her accident). I'm just grateful that she can keep her tooth!!! They took an X-ray just to make sure that she didn't damage the root, but her root was fine. If the root was damaged, they would have needed to pull it so that it wouldn't hurt her permanent tooth.
My suggestion to parents who are searching the internet for answers on what to do if their child's tooth is turning colors is to take them to a PEDIATRIC dentist. The dentist can see if the tooth has been dislodged or moved in any way. They can tell if there have been any fractures (even microscopic), and whether the root has been damaged. Her exam and x-ray cost $70 and although I am tight on money, it was DEFINITELY well worth it. I know for sure know that my child does not have permanent damage to her tooth or root.

By Melanie on Wednesday, May 5, 2004 - 02:41 pm:

When my middle son was about 2.5 or so, he was "sock skating" across our hardwood floor and he crashed into the wall. His two top middle teeth became discolored. They stayed that way. He is now six and he has lost both of those teeth, and I am looking forward to seeing his new white teeth grow in.

By Tklinreston on Friday, May 7, 2004 - 05:18 pm:

Update on the original post. If you recall my ds' two upper middle tooth were discolored. Today, one is white again and the other remains the same dark grayish color. The pediatric dentist was non-conclusive on whether the dark one was dying but in the moment suggests we just keep it in and see what happens. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

By Leigh88 on Monday, August 30, 2004 - 05:52 pm:

In the middle of June I was playing softball and got hit with the ball. Let me tell ya I have no clue why they call it a "soft"ball. It hurt bad. A few weeks after that my stepdad noticed that my tooth looked "gray". So my mom took me to the dentist and he told me it was a bruised tooth and that we should wait it out. Its now the end of august and my tooth is not fully white yet but its definitly better. Before school started I was very nervous about going back. I kept wondering if people would make fun of me or not even noticed.I tried whitening it and everything. I am 14 years old and it was an adult tooth. So think of your children as very lucky to have been a baby tooth.

By Mominwa on Sunday, September 12, 2004 - 01:09 pm:

Does anyone have an update on their children who have teeth discoloration? I see that most of the postings were from May. My 3 yr old son started having discoloration on his upper front tooth last week or so. I took him to the dentist and was told that he must have bumped his tooth and ended up having hemosederin stain. The dentist said that his teeth might get even darker or might even go back close to his previous teeth color but he doesn't know when or if it's going to happen. However, he said that his root/tooth did not die, which is good news. I've been researching online and most of what I've read doesn't sound good (that the discoloration is permanent). But from what I read from some of your postings, your children's teeth have gone back to normal color, which gives me hope. Could you please update us of your children's teeth progress?