Dr. Hall,
Last night my daughter who is 9 fell and broke one upper front tooth and put a horizontal crack in the other. We took her to a dentist today and he doesn’t have the time to fix it until March. I want it fixed now and want to go somewhere else. He said the root needs time to desensitize anyway. Is it ok to bring her somewhere sooner or is it usual protocol to wait 3 weeks for a tooth to lose it’s sensitivity?
Thank you.
-Nicole from California
Nicole,
There is no reason to wait.
It will help if you have the piece that broke off. An excellent cosmetic dentist will be able to reattach that piece.
But I would strongly recommend choosing an expert cosmetic dentist from our list. You didn’t indicate what city in California you are in, or I might have recommended someone. But this is a tricky esthetic situation and you want this tooth to look good and match the other front tooth, and 98% of dentists wouldn’t be able to do that.
If you don’t have the piece of tooth to be reattached, I would recommend direct dental bonding as a repair for her broken front tooth, because of the age of your daughter. Then, when she is older and the pulp in the tooth is smaller, it may need a single crown, or more depending on exactly what the damage is on the other front tooth.
Dr. Hall
Read more about pediatric dentistry.
Read more about Preparing your child for a dental appointment
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About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.