Immediately call us if your child has an injury to their mouth, teeth, or tongue. If this injury happens after hours, call our emergency number.
We will always be ready to help you when your little one's dental health is at risk. Below are some emergencies that could require urgent dental care. It's a good idea to have this list available on short notice in an emergency.
If your kid bites his tongue or lip badly enough to cause it to bleed, then you should thoroughly and gently clean the bite with cold water. Then administer a cold compress using a washcloth or wet towel and press it firmly against the injury. The cold and pressure will reduce the swelling. Then call us to discover how severe the damage is to the lip or tongue and possibly arrange for emergency dental treatment.
If your child gets something stuck between their teeth, try gently removing the object using dental floss. Avoid using a sharp tool or any metal or plastic to remove the object. If you can't remove the object with dental floss, call us at our office emergency number.
If your child has a broken, chipped, or cracked tooth or has broken off a piece of tooth, have them rinse out their mouth with lukewarm water. Then apply a cold compress to help reduce the swelling. Next, try to find the tooth fragment and save it. Call us immediately and if it is after hours, use our emergency number.
If your youngster's tooth gets knocked out of their mouth, locate the tooth and carefully rinse it with clean water (don't use soap). Be careful to touch only the tooth's crown, avoiding the part of the tooth you normally can't see (that was under the gum). Next, place the tooth in a clean container submerged in milk. It is often possible to save such a tooth. Call us immediately or go to the hospital directly.
If your boy or girl has a very loose tooth, you should remove it so that he or she doesn't swallow it or, even worse, inhale it.
If your child tells you that they have a toothache, use lukewarm water to rinse out their mouth and look at the tooth causing the pain. Make sure there's nothing stuck or caught in between the teeth causing the pain. If the pain continues, use a cold compress to lessen it.
Do not apply any heat or pain reliever directly to that tooth. This is because these kinds of pain relief medicines can damage the gums. However, you may administer children's pain relievers that are taken orally. Then schedule an appointment with our office immediately.
If you think your child has broken their jaw, put a cold compress on it to reduce the swelling. Then, call our emergency number or go to the hospital immediately. Frequently, a broken jaw results from a blow to the head. Hard blows to the head can be very dangerous, and they can even be life-threatening.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so be sure to childproof your house to avoid falls and accidents. Also, don't let your child chew on popcorn kernels, ice, or any other foods that could chip or break their teeth. When traveling, use car seats for your younger children and make your older children use their seatbelts.
If your child participates in contact sports, make sure they wear a mouthguard when playing. Here at our office, we can create a mouthguard that is custom-fitted for your child.
You can also avoid toothaches with regular brushing and flossing. Also, good teeth and mouth care includes regular visits to the dentist. Bring your child in for regular visits to our office.
