My son knocked his tooth pretty hard on the playground slide last year—turned grayish too, just like yours. We waited it out, but eventually he needed the tooth pulled because it got infected. Thankfully no crowns or root canals, but still stressful (and pricey)... Glad your little one's tooth recovered!
Weird how teeth can be so unpredictable, huh? My daughter had a similar playground incident—face-planted off the monkey bars (classic move, right?). Her tooth turned grayish too, and our dentist was pretty chill about it. He said sometimes they bounce back on their own, and sure enough, hers did. No infection or pulling needed. I get why you'd wait it out, but honestly, after hearing your story, maybe we just got lucky. Still, I wonder if dentists jump the gun sometimes with pulling teeth... seems like a lot of stress (and cash) for something that might've healed itself. Glad your kiddo's doing better now though—playgrounds are brutal!
Honestly, hearing your experience makes me wonder if we jumped the gun with my son's tooth. He had a similar playground accident and the dentist was pretty quick to pull it, saying it was safer to avoid infection... but now I'm second-guessing that call. Maybe waiting it out would've been better? It's so hard to know what's right in the moment, especially when you're worried about your kid being in pain. Glad things worked out for your daughter, though—those monkey bars are no joke.
I totally get why you're second-guessing yourself—it's always tough making those quick decisions, especially when your kid's hurting. But honestly, from my experience (and I've had my fair share of dental emergencies with my kids and grandkids), pulling the tooth might've been the safest call. Dentists usually don't jump straight to extraction unless they're genuinely concerned about infection or damage to the permanent tooth underneath.
My granddaughter had a similar accident a few years back—fell face-first off a swing and knocked her front tooth loose. We waited it out at first, hoping it'd tighten back up, but after a couple days it started looking worse and she was in more pain. Ended up having to rush her back in anyway, and the dentist said we probably should've acted sooner. Thankfully, everything turned out fine in the end, but it taught me that sometimes waiting isn't always better.
I know it's easy to second-guess yourself afterward (believe me, I've done it plenty), but you made the best decision you could with the information you had at the time. And honestly, kids bounce back quicker than we think—they're tougher than they look! Sounds like your son is doing okay now, and that's what matters most.
And you're right about those monkey bars...they've caused more dental visits in our family than I care to count. Maybe playgrounds should come with a dentist on standby, haha. Hang in there—you did good.
"Dentists usually don't jump straight to extraction unless they're genuinely concerned about infection or damage to the permanent tooth underneath."
That's generally true, but I'd add one small caution—sometimes it's worth asking if there's an alternative treatment before opting for extraction. For example, depending on the severity and position of the injury, I've seen cases where a dentist tried splinting a loose tooth temporarily to see if it stabilized first. Obviously, every situation is different, and extraction can definitely be necessary when there's infection risk or damage to the permanent tooth bud underneath. But it never hurts to ask your dentist directly if there are other viable options before going straight for removal.
And yeah, monkey bars are notorious in my office too...they're practically keeping us in business, lol. Glad your son's doing better though—kids really do heal fast!
