Blog

Main Menu

My three year old has a brown tooth!

A couple of months ago, Mr H was brushing M’s teeth and noticed that one of his top front teeth was slightly discoloured, like a brown colour.

At first, we put it down to us not brushing his teeth properly but on closer inspection, we realised this was not the case.

Turning to Doctor Google (as you do!), we found it meant that the tooth had suffered some kind of trauma. Instantly this rang a bell because a couple of weeks beforehand he had fallen over whilst we were out shopping in Kingston and his teeth must have hit the floor.

I didn’t think anything of it at the time. There was a bit of blood and he was upset but aside from a cut lip, he was fine. M has fallen over lots of times and has bitten his lip before I didn’t think this particular occasion was any different.

Turns out I was wrong.

Having read up a little about the discolouration on the internet, we found that this was due to blood leaking out of the blood vessels in his tooth and is quite common in young children who have fallen over and knocked their teeth.

I booked him an appointment at the dentist that week to have it checked out. The dentist checked him over and confirmed that the discolouration was due to trauma to the tooth. He told me that the tooth was probably dying and would need to come out sooner rather than later!

He went on to say that leaving the tooth in could affect the adult tooth behind it and so ideally it would need removing when M was around 4 or 5 (sooner if possible) and with no general anaesthetic (are you kidding me?!) He also said that the area around the tooth would be prone to infection.

I think I was in a bit of shock when I heard that. M didn’t even want to sit in the dentist’s chair when we visited, let alone go to have his tooth removed. It’s painful enough for an adult to have to go through this, let alone a young child! For me, this just wasn’t an option. I risked scarring him for life and having him never visit the dentist again!

I told the dentist that as the tooth was not causing him any bother that I would leave it for now and see what would happen in a few months’ time.

That evening, I did some more research and came across a really useful article that alleviated some of my worries about M’s tooth.

Firstly, as there had been no sign of infection or swelling, they mentioned that letting the tooth fall out of its own accord did not affect the permanent tooth underneath – hurrah! Secondly, there were photos from a fellow blogger whose daughter went to a dentist Saffron Walden who had the same thing but had knocked both of her front teeth. She found that after about 8 weeks, the teeth started to lighten up.

Mr H told me not to get my hopes up, but as the tooth was not bothering M in any way, we decided to just keep an eye on it.

The photos of the tooth aren’t great as M wouldn’t stay still, but I can really notice the discolouration in these pics. I wish I’d taken more photos as the weeks went by but trying to keep a three-year-old still, with his mouth open for photos, is impossible!


I thought I was imagining things when the tooth was starting to look less brown, but I think over the last week or so, it’s definitely less obvious. It looks much better than before and is now almost a light grey colour that is not overly visible. So it just goes to show – the dentist can be wrong!

We have another check up in a few months’ time, but it looks like M’s tooth is slowly on the mend, and had it not gotten better over time, I would most definitely have sought a second opinion over the (possibly needless) early removal of his tooth.

Have you had anything like this happen to your children before?
What did you do?

Related posts:

Milestones: M’s lost his first tooth!Milestones: M’s lost his first tooth! Milestones: Losing Baby teethMilestones: Losing Baby teeth Dentist and shopping – Living Arrows 3/52Dentist and shopping – Living Arrows 3/52 How to teach your kids about oral hygieneHow to teach your kids about oral hygiene

About The Author

Picture of Maria
Hello and welcome to Suburban Mum! I'm Maria and I'm mum to two boys - E who's 14 and M who's 11. This blog is about my family, the ups and downs of being a working mum and everything in between. If you want to find out more about me and my family head over to our About us page.

23 thoughts on “My three year old has a brown tooth!”

  1. Laura Dove

    My kids are always falling over and banging their mouths and the first thing I panic about is their teeth!! I’m sure that it won’t affect his adult teeth and it’s barely noticeable had you not pointed it out. He is just gorgeous! #FortheloveofBLOG

    Reply
  2. Davina

    This is really interesting, I had no idea that this could happen. My boys are always bashing themselves on things, so I’ll be keeping a vigilant eye out from now on! With or without a brown tooth, he is such a cutie! #fortheloveofBLOG

    Reply
  3. Handy Herbs

    I was not aware that this could happen! I have no experience of this happening to my children. It is very interesting that the dentist was wrong and a good job you decided to leave the tooth well alone. I hope it continues to improve. Definitely always worth a second opinion regarding anything medical I always feel. It is amazing the differing opinions that can be given. Thanks so much for linking up with #KCACOLS. Hope you return next week 🙂

    Reply
  4. Coombe Mill (Fiona)

    I was totally unaware this could happen, what a relief it is getting better on its own #KCACOLS

    Reply
  5. Allyson Greene

    My daughter (5) has one also! Opposite front tooth, it has been tat way for almost a year, and is loose now at last! Our dentist had no worries, said that since it wasn’t bothering her we could let it fall out on its own! Glad you did some extra research! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  6. mommyslittleprincesses

    Oh bless him I’m so glad M’s tooth seems to be getting better on its own and that it isn’t affecting him. For some reason I have heard of this happening, but I wasn’t aware that it meant the tooth would have to be removed.xx #KCACOLS

    Reply
  8. Katy | Hot Pink Wellingtons

    Gosh, I’d be taking your approach too I think! I don’t think there’s any way you’d get a 4 year old sat in a dentists chair having a tooth removed! If it’s not bothering him and research shows the adult tooth should be unaffected then I’d definitely leave it. For what it’s worth, I’d never have noticed the brown tooth if I didn’t know. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  9. Island Living 365

    Oh no. I am really glad to read that the tooth is on the mend. Must have been really worrying for you. I think you really took the right approach and I really don’t think the brown tooth is noticeable 🙂 #KCACOLS

    Reply
  10. Savannah

    That is so awesome that the tooth is healing on its own! As someone who is terrified of the dentist, because of bad experiences with dentists as a child, I really think you made the right decision. The dentist can be scary-allowing someone to put their hands into your mouth makes you feel extremely vulnerable. And, I think that yanking a tooth from a child with no anesthetic is a tad ridiculous. Thanks for sharing! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  11. sarah

    I’m glad that got better! I knocked one of my adult front teeth out of place once, where it stayed for two days til the dentist pushed it back and put a moth guard on it for 4 weeks. He said it would most likely discolour and die, but it’s done neither and is still here 15 years later! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  12. Jess Powell

    I didn’t even know this could happen to a tooth! I’m so glad it’s started to get back to normal though – having it pulled sounds like a nightmare! x #KCACOLS

    Reply
  13. Madeline Littlejohns

    I hadn’t realised that could happen! Really glad that it seems to be getting better, and that you trusted your instincts and gave it a chance rather than just letting the dentist remove it! x #KCACOLS

    Reply
  14. me and b make tea

    ouch. How amazing that it heals! pleased it is getting better. touch wood, no tooth incidents here #KCACOLS

    Reply
  16. The Pramshed

    Maria, this happened to my niece she fell over and landed on her front tooth a couple of years ago now. I don’t know if any advice was sought from dentist. However she still has the tooth, it is a little discoloured, but you cannot really tell it is a different colour without really looking. I know that she suffers no discomfort from it now, so I think she is just waiting for it to fall – if it hasn’t done so all ready (I know that she is loosing her milk teeth). I’m sure that your son will be just fine, and I’m glad it is starting to look a little discoloured. Thank you for linking up with us at #fortheloveofBLOG, I hope you come back to party with us next week. Claire x

    Reply
  17. J. Mackinnon

    I have never had anything like this happen. I am so sorry! I hate the dentist, and have tried really hard not to pass on my own fears to my children. I hope it lightens and all is well soon. To be honest, I had a hard time seeing the the discoloration, but then again, you are right. I could bearly get a photo of my 3 year olds without it being blurry as they were always on the move. You did great to get these photos! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  18. Leo Lionman & Mummy

    Oh bless him, and you. My son fell and chipped a big chip out of his front tooth and similarly would barely sit for the dentist to check so I can imaging the thought of your little one having his tooth taken out would be very distressing! He seems perfectly happy and as long as it is not hurting then what does a little discolouration matter to a 3 year old. Hope it continues to heal! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  19. Kayleigh Woodland

    Ouch! Im glad he’s okay and I think just keep an eye on it…it seems a bit rash to remove it if theres no pain or infection. My partner fell on his face and cracked his front tooth, an adult one, the dentist filed it down with no pain relief and he said it was the most painful experience he’d had, and he was around 17 at the time.

    #kcacols

    Reply
  20. Conflicted Orange

    Gosh I couldn’t imagine the shock you would get from your dentist about taking a child’s tooth out without general anaesthetic! I would be traumatised myself let alone babe. Glad that its clearing up on its own – sounds like your dentist was being hasty and didn’t bother to learn what’s happened to other people nor relate to you. The power of the internet is strong! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  21. Silly Mummy

    Aw hope it works out okay! I’m sure there are degrees of severity on such things, and taking it out is probably a bit extreme in many cases. I remember knowing kids who had done this when I was little – don’t recall any having the tooth removed though!

    My just turned 3 year old has had brown discoloration on her teeth since she got them, which has always been worrying! Have had them checked though, several times. It was obviously caused by something, medication is common but neither she nor I had any that would be likely to cause it. They now think it was most likely the iron in the multivitamins they tell you to give them when weaning! It’s not a genetic problem with the enamel, as I originally feared, and it can be scraped off, but obviously that will take a long time and probably not go down too well with her. We are going to try it though as, while it’s not actually a problem particularly, it is unsightly and I worry she may be made to feel self conscious about it when she goes to school. We were told to wait til she is 3 so she is actually off for her first appointment in a couple of weeks. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  22. tracey bowden

    My niece had this and it never caused her any issues and fell out of it’s own accord and her adult tooth is perfectly fine. Gald it’s clearing up now and you didn’t listen to your dentist! #kcacols

    Reply

  23. Pingback: Looking back at 2016: a roundup of our year | Suburban Mum

Leave a Reply to Davina Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *