Accidents are high on parents’ worst nightmare list. Let’s face it, our children are going to have their fair share of bumps and bruises along the way as they learn to interact with their environments. All we can do is be prepared for what to do when they do happen. When it comes to dental emergencies, the difference between doing the right and wrong thing can determine whether a tooth is saved or lost and how much dental care a child needs in the future to repair what happened in the accident.
Here, we compile what to do for the most common dental emergencies with kids.
Knocked Out Tooth
- To maximize the odds that a knocked-out tooth can be saved, do not touch the root and try to place it back in the socket immediately. You can also place it in milk or Hank’s Balanced Salt Solution (schools should have this).Do NOT PLACE IT IN water. Call our emergency hotline right away. This is a TRUE dental emergency.
Suspected or visible cracked tooth
- Rinse with warm water to remove any debris and clean the area around the tooth. Don’t use mouthwash to avoid irritating the nerves and causing more pain. Use ice to help with the pain and reduce any facial swelling.
- Go to your dentist for treatment as soon as possible. Not all cracks are visible. Biting down on a cracked tooth while eating can make it worse.
Bitten tongue or lip
- Sports activities and roughhousing has sent quite a few kids to us with a bitten tongue, lip or cheek. Rinse with warm water and apply cold compress. See us so we can determine any hard or soft tissue damage from the impact and to make sure no debris is in the wound.
Toothache
- Rinse with warm water. Again, not mouthwash.
- Use floss to knock off any debris between the affected tooth and its neighbors.
- Get an appointment with your dentist.
- Severe pain and bleeding is an emergency– don’t delay in seeing the dentist.
Objects stuck in between teeth
- Try floss to budge it out from between teeth with a tooth pick.
- DON’T attempt to remove it with sharp objects or instruments. Come see us so we can remove it and/or check on the affected teeth and gums if you are not sure if you removed the offending object.
Dental abscess in adult teeth
We’ve seen this in older kids and teens who hid their toothache from their parents. A pocket of pus has formed near the affected tooth from the cavity penetrating into the nerve system of the tooth. This is a potentially life-threatening emergency because the infection can spread to your child’s jaw and throughout the head and neck area.
The symptoms:
- Fever
- Toothache
- Tooth sensitivity to hot and cold (not just to drinks and food, but to temperature in and out of the house)
- A pimple-like bump in the gum line near the affected tooth
- Sometimes this happens under wiggly baby teeth and this is not as urgent of a problem but still requires the intervention of your pediatric dentist to remove the offending tooth if you or your child cannot get it out.
A true dental abscess is rare because parents are usually vigilant and kids usually cannot bear the initial pains of toothache to let it get this bad. However, if something like this develops, it needs to be treated urgently.
About Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan, the offices of Drs. Plunkett, Ralstrom, Makowski, Thanasas, Ker, and Associates
Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic Specialists of Michigan have specialized in pediatric dentistry and orthodontics since 1968. Our family-friendly and newly renovated office gives patients and families a more comfortable and consistent experience with dentistry from the very beginning. Our pediatric dentists treat children from newborn to 18 years of age while our orthodontists provide care for both children and adults and are proud to be Premier Providers of Invisalign and Invisalign Teen services. The ability to treat all patients with compassion and individuality, including those that may have special needs reaches beyond our facility, which has treatment rooms available for children who require additional privacy and customized care options. We pioneered valued hospital affiliations to allow dental services to be performed at DMC Children’s Hospital and St. John Macomb Hospital, when appropriate or necessary, and our specialists are also proud to be on staff at Henry Ford and Beaumont hospitals.
