Dental Trauma: Two Injured Front Teeth, Two Very Different Treatment Decisions
November 11, 2026
My daughter was still in pain after root canal treatment – I'm so glad our dentist referred us to a specialist
Patient story | Dental trauma and specialist root canal treatment at Stoke Lane Dentistry, Bristol
When my 16-year-old daughter Emma fell onto her face while playing football, she injured her two front teeth, as well as her nose and upper lip.
As a parent, it's horrible seeing your child hurt, especially when it involves their adult front teeth. We were naturally worried about the damage and whether her teeth would be okay.
We went to our local dentist for emergency treatment. One of my daughters front teeth needed root canal treatment and was repaired with a tooth-coloured filling.
We hoped that would be the end of it.
Read more below:
But the pain didn't go away
Despite having the root canal treatment, my daughter was still experiencing pain in her front tooth.
We knew she'd had quite a nasty fall, but it was worrying that she was still having problems after treatment.
Our dentist had noticed something unusual and felt that my daughter needed further investigation. He referred us to Dr Armineh Arzandeh, a Specialist Endodontist at Stoke Lane Dentistry.
Looking back, I'm so glad he did.
Finding out what was really wrong
Armineh investigated my daughter's injury further, including taking a detailed 3D dental scan called a CBCT.
This revealed that the problem was more complicated than we'd initially realised.
There was damage to the root of the tooth that had already been treated, and some of the root filling material had passed outside the tooth.
The scan also revealed something we hadn't expected – my child's other front tooth had a fracture in its root.
So both front teeth had been injured, but in different ways.
What was reassuring was that Armineh could identify what was happening and plan how best to manage each tooth.
Specialist treatment to save her front teeth
Armineh recommended repeating the root canal treatment on the painful tooth and repairing the damage to its root.
Fortunately, she was able to carry out the specialist treatment through the tooth itself, without needing surgery.
The other front tooth was different. Although it had a fractured root, it wasn't causing any symptoms or showing signs of movement, so Armineh decided it would be better to monitor it rather than carry out unnecessary treatment.
As a parent, I found it reassuring that the approach wasn't simply to do more treatment, but to work out what each tooth actually needed.
Six months later – such a relief
At Emma's six-month review, the results were really encouraging.
The tooth that Armineh had treated showed complete healing of the problem around its root, and the surrounding gum tissue had healed well too.
Even more encouragingly, the other front tooth, which had been left to heal naturally, was also showing good signs of healing.
Both of my daughter's natural front teeth had been saved.
Knowing that she could keep her own front teeth at just 16 was a huge relief.
I'm incredibly grateful that our dentist recognised that she needed specialist help and referred her to Armineh.
What could have been a much more worrying situation had a positive outcome, and my daughter will continue to have her teeth monitored to make sure they remain healthy.
Is your child still experiencing tooth pain after an injury?
If your child has fallen, knocked or damaged a front tooth, it's important to have the injury assessed by a dentist, even if the tooth looks relatively normal.
Sometimes damage to the tooth or its root isn't immediately obvious, and persistent pain following dental trauma or root canal treatment may need further investigation.
Meet Dr Armineh Arzandeh
Dr Armineh Arzandeh provides specialist endodontic care for patients with complex root canal problems, dental injuries and teeth that continue to cause problems following previous treatment.
You can be referred by your own dentist or contact the practice directly to discuss a specialist consultation.
