Degen's Tooth Woes

My child, my son, my Degen... what are we going to do with you? If Degen can make it through childhood with his front teeth still in his head, I will count us fortunate. He is not yet two years old and has already chipped two of his front teeth. After dinner on Wednesday, a scream in the playroom sounded the alarms at the Coble house.

I went downstairs to find blood pouring out of Degen's mouth and covering his hands as they covered his howls. I grabbed him and ran upstairs, calling to Darren for help. We were able to get a wet washcloth in his mouth and slowed some of the blood. Strips of skin peeled from the inside of Degen's fattening lip as we struggled to both comfort him and assess the damage.

When he screamed, I tried my best to find out if a fat lip was the worst of it. As soon as I caught sight of his front teet, I knew that my boy had done his best to knock out those front teeth. Half of his front teeth had been pushed back and together and his gum looked purple and flattened. Darren called the pediatrician who confirmed that we needed to contact our pediatric dentist. By this time, Degen's cries were slowing to sighs and hiccups. I gave him a healthy dose of ibuprofen and bribed him to "ice" his lip with a popsicle, and then another. Soon he was running around with his fat lip like nothing had happened, though I got a little choked up every time I looked at his 'crooked' smile. When I went downstairs to inspect the "scene of the crime" I discovered Degen's tooth imprints on the entertainment center. He had fallen mouth-first onto the shelf, most likely falling from somewhere he shouldn't have been standing like a chair or tray table.

 The next morning, I made an appointment for x-rays at our pediatric dentist. Thankfully, the x-ray showed that though he damaged the ligaments he did not crack the roots, which would have been more serious. We are hopeful that as the gum heals, it will push the misplaced teeth back into place.

Degen doesn't seem much bothered by his injury, though he has ran into a few things (he's got my sense of gracefulness) and has cried out when we're changing his shirts due to the remaining tenderness of the healing gum.

You can compare the two sides of his mouth and see how the left side has been pushed back.

In this picture, you can clearly see that his toothline has shifted significantly on the left side.