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How long does it take a broken tooth to discolor?


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Question

My daughter knocked her front baby tooth loose. The dentist said to watch it for discoloration to see if the root was broken. How long will it take to discolor? It has been a week and I haven’t noticed anything yet.

Answer 

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Oh, this could take weeks or even a couple months... sometimes there's a trauma and the nerve doesn't die for a year or more!

The good news is, it's a baby tooth, and will eventually be replaced. You didn't say how old your daughter is, but you want to leave that tooth in as long as possible to help guide the adult tooth into the right place and to hold the space and prevent crookedness.

Even discoloration isn't a big deal - it only needs treatment if there are signs of infection on the tooth afters the nerve dies. This would look like pain, swelling, a "pimple" like area on the gums in front of the tooth. This would then need a "pulpotomy" which is dentist talk for a kind of baby root canal. No big deal.

good luck!