Start practicing

Pediatric Dentistry · patient case question

What does she have?

Patient case: 5-year-old — bump on tooth F after trauma

Scenario: A 5-year-old fell and lost tooth E last month. She now has a bump on tooth F that appeared 3 days ago. The tooth is DARKER than the adjacent teeth and has some mobility. Radiographs show LESS THAN 1/3 of the root remaining.

  1. A mucocele of the labial mucosa
  2. A sinus tract (fistula) from a necrotic primary tooth
  3. An eruption cyst over the succedaneous tooth
  4. A parulis from a periodontal abscess of the permanent incisor
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: B. A sinus tract (fistula) from a necrotic primary tooth

  • A. A mucocele is a painless bluish fluid-filled swelling of minor salivary gland origin, most often on the lower lip, unrelated to a necrotic tooth.
  • B. Correct. The triad of a DISCOLOURED (dark) tooth, MOBILITY, and a soft-tissue 'bump' appearing 3 days ago is a parulis/sinus tract draining a necrotic primary incisor after trauma. Pulp necrosis following luxation injury is the underlying event.
  • C. An eruption cyst is a bluish, fluctuant, dome-shaped swelling directly OVER an erupting tooth crown and is not associated with a darkened, mobile, previously traumatised tooth.
  • D. The permanent incisor has not erupted at this age, and the picture is of primary-tooth pathology.

Practice Pediatric Dentistry questions Pediatric Dentistry study notes

More Pediatric Dentistry practice questions