My 8-Year Old Son Broke His Permanent Front Tooth and Here is How They Fixed it

My son had the misfortune of falling at the park and breaking part of his front tooth . He broke a large piece of the tooth up to the gums. Actually, it stopped just below the gums and we are grateful that it wasn't higher because his dentist explained that if we saw a red dot or other colors that it would be much more serious.  

Here is what his broken permanent front tooth looked like before it was repaired.

So what happened next? We called our dentist's emergency voicemail.  He returned our call and then we described what happened, how it looked, and how well he was managing the pain. Our dentist then asked me a series of questions about how the tooth looked. I was disappointed that it was Friday evening and he said that it wasn't an emergency and could wait until Monday. As a mom, it felt like an emergency to me, but I knew that he was a highly trained and respected dentist, so I tried to relax.  After all, my son wasn't screaming despite how scary it looked to me.

After the shock started to wear off and his dentist told me that he would be fine, my husband and I realized that we should have saved the piece of tooth that broke off. My husband went out with a flashlight and found it. We then put it in a ziploc bag with our son's saliva. 

I initially gave him Children's Tylenol on the first day. However, he didn't seem to really need it. He insisted that he felt fine. He was just embarrassed and didn't want anyone to see what he looked like with the chipped tooth.

So, Monday finally came. His dentist was calm and confident which was soothing to me.  He said that he wasn't sure if he'd use the piece of tooth that we brought and that he would need to examine it.  He said that sometimes there are actually multiple pieces. However, after examining it, he said that we did a good job and that the piece was a good fit! He could simply bond it!  No anesthesia was required and it wasn't too expensive, especially compared to a crown or veneer.

The process took about one hour and 15 minutes. My sweet little boy was unusually still and cooperative. (I bribed him ahead of time with the promise of video game time and that he could pick where we went for dinner.)  When he was done, his smile was beautiful again.

Time will tell if the bonding holds up, but I am optimistic and hoping for the best.  

Disclosure: I have no medical training and you should always consult your doctor and dentist for any situation like this.