What should you do if your child’s tooth started hurting in the middle of the night?
Here is what you need to know if your child reported pain whether in the middle of the night or on eating. It can happen! although most kids don’t report pain accurately or in time for a small problem to be detected.
There are a few possibilities to why your child’s teeth are hurting. Either way, you should visit a pediatric dentist to evaluate the reason behind the unexplained tooth pain. Needless to say, this pain can indicate a problem that can get worse if left untreated.
Milk teeth have nerves and once it is infected with bacteria, they get pain like adults and they need root canal treatment.
6 Causes for Child Tooth Pain:
- Dental Decay: The most common cause of tooth pain in children is a cavity! Cavities notoriously lead to pain on eating especially eating anything sweet! Ofcourse children love their candy so much and that’s why they are very susceptible to this type of pain.
- Dental Infection: Unfortunately, this is a possibility as well. When cavities left untreated the bacteria gets in the root canal of the baby tooth leading to first tooth nerve pain and then later to dental infection. This may end up as a tooth abscess or worse a facial cellulitis. These two conditions are pretty serious and a child can be admitted to hospital and may take IV antibiotics if needed.
- New Teeth: Whether the baby teeth are wobbly, or some adult teeth are coming through; both these conditions can lead to a degree of discomfort or sometimes even pain for children.
- Fillings: Some fillings can be quiet sensitive especially if recently placed. If not, then there is a possibility of decay underneath the filling which is leading to the pain.
- Sinus Problems: Believe it or not, but sometimes children report pain and point towards a top tooth and it is actually the sinus that is hurting!
- Foreign body stuck: it is quite natural for anything to be stuck around the gums. This may lead to pain sensation or worse infection or gum abscess. Most common things to get stuck is usually popcorn kernel.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BubSBCVntUn/
If you see any of these symptoms when checking your child for mouth pain make sure see a Pediatric Dentist immediately. An abscessed or an infected tooth needs to be treated by a dentist immediately.
If left untreated the bacterial infection will spread and may have consequences beyond the mouth of your child.
If a child has a facial swelling! it is serious and you must immediately call your specialist dentist for kids.
What will the dentist for kids do?
The pediatric dentist will diagnose the reason behind the pain and this will help solve the problem. Usually the first line of defiance is using anti-inflammatory medicine like brufen or Panadol. When you see the emergency dentist for kids an antibiotic maybe prescribed as needed if a dental abscess or infection exists. The sad new is usually if a baby tooth was the source of infection it will probably mean that the tooth that must be removed. According to your child’s age and condition, your pediatric dentist may place a space maintainer to hold that space for the adult tooth to grow in without any loss of space. When your child’s tooth is removed, the infection drains out. However, if your dentist prescribes an antibiotic, your child needs to finish it, even if his/her tooth had been removed.
How to Prevent future dental issues?
The most important question is: how to prevent future dental problems and tooth ache in children?
It is critical to follow best practices on prevention of tooth decay in kids, which include:
-
Brushing twice a day for 2 minutes
-
limiting sugary foods
-
Visiting a pediatric dentist regularly every 6 months to detect and prevent any issues.
[recent_posts count=”3″]
Despite your best efforts, we do understand your little child may still got tooth ache or tooth pain or gum pain or infection, not to mention tooth decay or infection; however we got you covered, if in doubt or need more information on dealing with dental issues with your child, please contact us or schedule an appointment. Our pediatric dental clinic in Dubai is looking forward to helping your child keep their lovely healthy smile.
“To a lifetime of healthy happy smiles!”
