Kids can be very clumsy sometimes with what they eat, how they walk and how they play. Depending on their age, especially toddlers they might lose balance when walking and fall.
If you have a child, you know what I am talking about here: You know that they will find the most creative way to fall on their mouth or teeth and get injured.
Even more so, they find something hard and weird to stick inside their mouth or worse nose!
That’s what childhood is about really…discovering the environment. We get it….let kids be kids……
Unfortunately, though sometimes their shenanigans lead to teeth mishaps…They bump and fall on their baby teeth and get lumps from the bumps and the falls.
But don’t you worry we got you covered…read on to know what to do if your child was met with an unfortunate tooth accident or damage to a baby tooth…
Types of Tooth Injuries in Children
1: Chipped tooth: Chips are very common and can be caused by biting on something hard or a fall. Most parents complain: toddler fell and chipped tooth!
Because the chipped area is small, it has less risk to expose the nerve- so no risk of pain. However, quiet commonly chipped teeth leave a very rough edge. This can hurt the tongue or the lip as the child or the toddler frequently bites these without noticing.
2: Cracked tooth: Sometimes your child’s tooth is cracked and if you are lucky you will see it when it hasn’t expanded. Cracks can vary from minor types called craze lines that only affect the outer enamel and don’t cause pain to vertical cracks that start from the roots and then spread which can be very painful and lead to tooth inflammation and nerve damage.
3: Broken tooth: If your child breaks their tooth it usually causes serious pain as it might expose the nerves in the dental pulp. Sometimes though your child may not feel any pain at all and to your surprise- you feel everything is ok. This is not always the case: be careful as this could mean that the tooth is already badly hurt and the nerves have been destroyed. Ooops, bad news I know 🙁
4: Avulsion: Last but not least: the most serious type of tooth injury is Avulsion. When a child’s tooth is completely knocked out and loses his tooth due to an accident or fall and tooth comes out of its socket. If this happens you must rush to your pediatric dentist immediately. An avulsed permanent tooth is one of the few real emergency situations in dentistry and your child’s dentist will try to replant the tooth in its place as soon after the injury.
What to do if my toddler breaks a tooth?
Toddler tooth injuries are frequent. Now what to do!
No matter what causes the accident or how bad the tooth is injured, it can be a scary experience for the first timer parents. Read on to know how to handle the situation
- Stay calm and don’t panic: Remember that kids can feel your fear and we don’t want this to become a scary experience for them. Soooo, stay calm and comfort your child. It is ok and it will be ok.
- Call the dentist: Contact your pediatric dentist and ask for advice and check if you could book an appointment right away. They usually know best and work like awesome tooth fairies 🙂 Immediate solution is how to save the tooth after a fall.
- Compress: Use cold compress on your child’s face to avoid swelling and reduce the pain.
- Keep it clean: Keep it clean and Rinse your child’s mouth with water to remove any tiny tooth particles that may be still sticking around. Salt with water can provide a form of antiseptic aid to the tooth and the mouth.
- Providing pain relief from a broken tooth: Tooth ache from a broken tooth is possible. If your child is in pain, my advice is to give them Panadol or Brufen or any other light pain killer to reduce the pain.
- Visit your dentist Your kids dentist will advice you of the tooth injury and how best to solve it. Also will prescribe things to promote healing. If needed a tooth filling will repair the chipped tooth and the dentist can place it on the spot and all this will not take time.
Trust me, after your visit to the pediatric dentist, you will feel much better and your child will feel much better too.
Bear in mind that if the tooth is left untreated it can lead to bigger problems- you seriously don’t want to happen for your awesome child.
What could happen if a broken tooth was left untreated?
- Gumboil or broken tooth infection: If a cracked or chipped tooth is left untreated it can lead to tooth abscess which basically means a dental infection. Beware of these signs to know if a dental abscess has occurred:
- Bad breath
- Sickness or fever
- Swollen gums or face
- Bitter taste in the mouth
- Swollen red gum right on top of the tooth
- Black or Grey tooth discoloration: That’s a common question parents ask: Why are my baby’s teeth turning grey? Be careful, it turns grey if the nerve of the baby tooth was damaged beyond repair.
- Pain: Teeth can be painful if the nerve gets exposed and you should take your lovely child to the dentist as soon as you can before pain sets in.
- Loosing the tooth: Eventually if left untreated there is a big chance for the tooth root to resorb and the tooth to come out early.
Recommendations:
- Tooth Injury First Aid: No matter how careful you are as a parent, at some point or another your child or toddler might hurt their teeth and it is important to take notes of what can cause it, how to handle it and why it needs handling. So be prepared.
- Emergency dentist on speed dial: We get it dentistry for children is not easy! But all hope is not lost. This is why finding the best pediatric dentist in Dubai is key- to have a number to call in times of emergency and an expert specialist dentist to guide you, tell you what to do and to reassure you when needed.
- Save a tooth: Spread this knowledge to everyone you know: You never know who’s teeth are you saving.
- Save the piece: Good news is that If a piece of tooth is chipped off, you can store it in milk and the dentist might be able to attach it back. True story!
Though some parents won’t consider cracked or chipped tooth a dental emergency: please handle it as it is: and seek the help of your pediatric dentist as soon as possible and let them take care of the tooth professionally. The sooner it gets treated, the better the chances of limiting future dental complications. Recovery is generally fast once the dental procedure is complete.
Please contact my clinic, if you are asking yourself ‘What should I do for my child’s broken tooth?’
For more about the topic please watch this video, leave your comments or questions down below.
“To a lifetime of healthy happy smiles!”
So don’t delay your child his first Pediatric dentist visit, at our pediatric dentistry clinic in Dubai health care city you can schedule an appointment, we will be happy to give you your child the best dental care.
“To a lifetime of healthy happy smiles!”
