Should I take him to a dentist?

[DoulaRelle]

OK I will explain this as best I can. My 11 month old cut 6 teeth around 4 months ago. The bottom 2 then what appeared to be the top middle 2 albeit with quite a large gap and the 2 on either side of that.

I just noticed this morning that he appears to be cutting another front tooth right in the middle of the existing 2, but the gap is not going to be big enough for his tooth.

Is this an extra tooth, or is it actually the 2nd front tooth, just coming through late, and off centre. ( It is cutting right through that ridge in between the front teeth.

[Antheia]

I would take him to a dentist. It could be an extra tooth. DH had one when we was a kid that came through the middle too.

[DoulaRelle]

Thanks Tegan! I just can't see where it will have the room to fit iykwim.

[*Efjay*]

Wow, keeps us updated on that one!

[EllyBoo72]

Oh no Relle, poor lil man....Could you ring the dental surgery first, to see what they say? You may not need to take him in...They may deal with this question over the phone IYKWIM? Good luck!

[DoulaRelle]

Ally, I thought I would give my MCHN a call today and see what she thinks as well. I might give the dental surgery a call too though and see what they say.

Fionajill, I will!

[EllyBoo72]

How'd you go Relle?

[DoulaRelle]

Hey Ally, My MCHN is not in today and I thought I would actually speak with her, and possibly even show her before going to a dentist. My mum seems to think that the tooth needs to come down before they can figure out what the go is anyway.

[*Efjay*]

I am pretty sure you can speak to your GP about teeth as well. I agree with your mum that a dentist isn't likely to do anything till his teeth are down anyway.

[DoulaRelle]

Fionajill, yeah it does make sense, the other thought was my GP, but he can be really hard to get into, so I will wait till tomorrow talk my mchn and go from there I think!

[Janie]

Relle, definitely talk to your MCHN (or GP) first. A dentist isn't going to be able to much, if anything for an 11 month old.

What you are describing is certainly sounding very unusual! Are you sure that it's a tooth? (Sorry, not that i think you're silly, just checking!)

Even if it is a new tooth, I doubt there's anything anyone would do ATM. Does he seem particularly distressed by it?

Please report back, I'm very interested to hear how you go. I've been a dental nurse for 10 years and haven't seen anything like this! (That could be because it's always seen by the MCHN or GP though!).

[DoulaRelle]

Sez - I am pretty sure it is a tooth hun. Last night it was giving him quite a bit of pain so I gave him a rusk and the rusk had blood all over it, which appeared to be coming from the gum around the tooth next to the new one.

Any ideas????

[Janie]

I'm really sorry Relle, I'd love to help, but I don't have any ideas! I don't even remember learning about something like this (though it was a long time ago LOL!).

I do think you should contact your MCHN today and see what she says, if you can't see her, then def. get in to see your GP. You could always ring your dentist and see what they say, but I'm not sure if they'll be able to help?????

Is it still bothering him today? Let me know how you go hun.

[Janie]

How did you go Relle?

I spoke to my boss about it, he thinks the most likely explanation is something called 'enamel pearls'. The outer layer of teeth is made up of enamel. Sometimes when the teeth are forming some extra enamel can form, and will make it's way through the gum at some point. It will likely erupt and then exfoliate (fall out) sometime after. It is apparently not uncommon, so your MCHN should know about it. Not much to be done, just wait for the fragment to come out. I hope I explained that clearly enough for you

It could be something else, but he seemed to think that this was the most likely explanation. Thank you, because this was not something I'd heard of, so it's nice to learn something new!

Anyway, let me know how it turned out, I'm interested to know!

[DoulaRelle]

Sez,

My MCHN is on holidays till the 1st of March, so I haven't had much luck there, and my GP is really hard to get into.

OK - the best description I have for it now is: it looks about the size of the 3rd of a standard tooth and is definately coming down right over that ridge right in the middle of a babies top gum.

I can't get a great look at it cause he HATEs me trying to get near it, but again last night with a rusk, he drew blood.

It doesn't appear to go behind the other teeth, so to me it looks like either an extra tooth that is timy or as your boss has said. Thankyou so much for asking your boss for me too!

This is so bizarre!!!!11

[*Efjay*]

Wow that is weird. Be intersting to see if turns out to be that.

ETA- I googled this, Sez, please don't think I am saying you or your boss are wrong. But what I found said that this condition doesn't happen on single root teeth? Only molars....

ETA - MMM I found a few sites with pictures & it doesn't really sound like the same thing happening. Looking at pictures an Enamel Pearl is a small droplet looking ball of enamel that sits inbetween two roots.

[Janie]

FJ, I think you'll find that it isn't COMMON on single root teeth. Doesn't mean it can't happen. Not that I'm an expert! (clearly LOL!).

Relle, the only thing that occurred to me the other day when i first saw your post was that it could be a 'supernumerary' tooth. Which is basically just an extra tooth. Supernumerarys are typically smaller than an average tooth. I wasn't, and still am not, too sure about how common it is in deciduous teeth though. Not impossible though, so it could be the explanation. The fact that the site has been bleeding makes me think it's more likely to be an enamel pearl, but who knows?

I would imagine whatever it is, it is something that will exfoliate at some stage, so he won't have it forever. As long as it's not troubling him too much, I would just wait until your MCHN is back, and take him to see her. The other option is a paediatric dentsist.

Try not to worry about it too much, although it's not common, it shouldn't be a big drama. It's just knowing what it is LOL!

Good luck, and keep us updated