Pediatric Dental Emergencies

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Pediatric Dental Emergencies

Kids are prone to accidents such as falling down, getting injured during sport activities or biting on something hard that could all lead to losing a tooth or other types of dental emergencies.

When a dental emergency happens, it is important to stay calm, act fast and seek help from a professional pediatric dentist. At MyPedia Clinic we are very much familiar with these emergencies and offer emergency dental services. We know that available urgent pediatric dental care is important to parents and we strive to offer parents and their lovely children the best care needed to handle these situations.

Have you ever been in a situation when your lovely child was facing a dental emergency and didn’t know what to do? Please read along as we are sharing some tips on handling common dental situations.

The most important thing is staying calm and making sure that your child is not scared. Remember that children can sense our feelings and if you are panicked and scared, your child will feel it and it will increase their discomfort.

Pediatric Dental Emergencies

Tips for Urgent Dental Situations

Knocked Out Permanent/Adult Tooth

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If your child knocks out a permanent tooth – it’s a different story and we strongly recommend saving the tooth. First, clean the tooth and wash it with milk and then try to insert it back. If it works, great, if not bring your child to the clinic immediately and keep the tooth in a glass of milk until you get here. If milk is not available, place the tooth in human saliva to preserve it. A knocked out permanent tooth is a serious dental emergency and you should call us right away if it happens.

Toothache

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A toothache can be the sign of different problems that require urgent dental care. First, rinse your child’s mouth with warm water and make sure your child’s mouth is clean and there is no food residue by brushing or flossing slowly. You can give your child aspirin for mild pain until you get here. To sooth the pain, you may apply a cold compress to the face.

Knocked Out Baby Tooth

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In case your baby knocks out a baby tooth, reinserting it is not advised. But we still recommend having an appointment with us to check if the entire tooth has come out. We will also check to make sure other teeth are not injured.

Broken Jaw

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A broken or fractured jaw can be a very painful experience. If your child has a bad fall or sport accident and has any of these symptoms, he or she might have fractured or broken their jaw:

  • You child is unable to open the mouth;
  • Misalignment of the jaw upon opening;
  • Your child has uneven teeth and looks different from before the incident;
  • You child can’t close their teeth properly.

Keep the jaw still by using a towel or necktie and immobilize the jaw. Now bring your child to our office as soon as possible to get the help required.

Dental Concussion

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When a tooth has faced a trauma such as a bang or a knock, but hasn’t dislodged from its socket or fractured, it is described as “Concussed”. This usually appears in toddlers and can result in permanent or temporarily tooth discoloration. Unless the tooth turns black or dark (which indicates that the tooth is dying), dental concussions don’t need emergency treatment. However, it is best to see your Pediatric Dentist who will explain to you the signs of a dying tooth. If this unfortunately happens to your child’s tooth, you will want to know ahead of time.

Bitten Cheek, Lip or Tongue

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In the event that your child has accidentally bitten their lip, tongue or cheek, clean the bite with water and use a cold compress to ease the pain and reduce swelling (a cold wet towel will do the trick here). If the bleeding doesn’t stop, give us a call and check if an emergency clinic visit is needed.

Object Caught in Teeth

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Young kids put everything in their mouth and having small objects caught between their teeth is a very common dental emergency. If you find out that your child has something caught between their teeth, try to gently remove it with a dental floss. If you succeed – perfect, if not – please give us a call and come for a visit. Keep in mind that you should never use sharp tools to remove the stock object as it will result in more damages to the teeth and possibly the gum.

Cut or Bitten Tongue, Lip, or Cheek

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It is quite common for children to bite their tongue, lips or cheeks. If this happens to your child, and it is severe enough to cause bleeding, try cleaning the bite with water and use a cold compress. After that, give us a call to see how serious the bite is and if your child needs to come for an emergency dental visit.

Broken Tooth

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Call us as soon as possible and bring your child for an emergency check-up. Timing is everything in saving the tooth and can help prevent infection or risk of further serious damages. To reduce swelling rinse the mouth with cold water and apply cold compress. If you manage to find the broken tooth fragment, keep it in milk and bring it with you to the clinic.

Bleeding After a Baby Tooth Falls Out

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Use a folded piece of gauze and place it on the bleeding area and apply pressure. Ask your child to bite the gauze for 15 minutes till the bleeding stops. Repeat the process if needed and if the bleeding doesn’t stop, call us.

Loose Tooth

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If your child has a baby tooth that is severely loose, it must be removed to avoid being swallowed or inhaled. If you need help with removing the tooth, please give us a call. In case it is a permanent tooth, this is considered as an emergency and you should bring your child in for a check-up immediately.

Tooth Luxation/Extrusion

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Tooth displacement is referred to as luxation or extrusion depending on the way the tooth is damaged following a trauma. Luxated tooth doesn’t come out of the socket and the pulp remains intact half the time, but the tooth protrudes at an unusual angle and the jawbone. Do you suspect that your child might be having a tooth luxation? Come in for an emergency visit NOW.

Oral Abscess

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Oral abscess is an infection that appears at the roots of the teeth and its symptoms are sudden fever, swollen gums or sudden bad taste in the mouth. If your child is experiencing oral abscess, you should bring your child to us immediately to find out the cause and take the necessary measures. Untreated infection in the mouth can easily spread to other parts of the body and lead to more serious medical conditions.

Avoiding Injury

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In order to reduce the risk of dental injuries in your child here are some simple steps you can take.

  1. In sports events, your child can wear protective gears such as a mouthguard to reduce the risk of severe injuries. We can have a custom fitted mouthguard made for your child.
  2. Make sure your child is always wearing the seatbelt even if sat at the back of the car. Road accidents are one of the main causes of dental emergencies in children.
  3. Your house can be child proofed to prevent falls and electrical injuries.
  4. Regular dental check-ups are very important and provide the opportunity for you to have a one on one discussion with your paediatric dentist and know more about preventive ways of avoiding dental injuries.
  5. Be careful about what your child eats, and don’t let your child chew on ice, popcorn kernels, or other hard foods or objects.