COMMON DENTAL EMERGENCIES WITH CHILDREN

During childhood,injuries involving the mouth area are very common.Falls and knocks specially up to age of 3 years are seen mostly because of the child’s unstable crawling and walking.

Later on injuries and accidents are seen in school going kids.During this age it is commonly sport related injuries that result in broken or chipped teeth.

Such injuries are often very scary for both the child and the parent so a lot of blood may be visible.Seeing a tooth knocked out or a lip busted is a very unpleasant experience.Knowing how to deal with an emergency situation and how to prevent dental injury in your kids can help save your kids teeth.

All teeth including your kids’s baby teeth are important and need to be protected.Parents feel that baby teeth are less important and often ignore any injury involving them.but please remember that baby teeth are very important in acting as space maintainers in the baby’s mouth so that the adult teeth can come in ; they are important also for proper speech development in your child anf for your kid’s self-esteem and confidence.

All parents and the child’s care takers must be prepared to deal with dental emergencies and the best way is to be prepared before any accident happens.
• Make sure you have a dentist nearby who can see the child in case of an emergency.
• Keep emergency numbers with yourself at all times and it should be given to the school if there is a problem.
• Try and make your house safer by ensuring that there are no sharp edged objects or slippery floors if there is a crawling baby around.
MOST COMMON EMERGENCIES
• Tooth ache
• Cut or bitten lips,cheek or tongue
• Chipped tooth
• Knocked out tooth

HOW TO HANDLE AN EMERGENCY

Toothache- A tooth can hurt due to number of reasons.Firstly try to clean the area around the painful teeth by rinsing well.If any food particle is stuck ,try to remove it with dental floss.See if this makes the child feel better.Try and see if you can spot any cavity or discoloration.If the child’s face swollen then please go to see your dentist.Do not ever aspirin on the gum or hurting tooth.Try not to do any self medication unless you have spoken to your child’s dentist.

Cut or bitten lips,cheek or tongue- This sort of things is seen at any time in kids.It could be mild like just a bite when eating something or a lot more severe.Mostly these cuts heal very quickly.You can apply an icepack to reduce the pain and control the bleeding.You can also take a clean gauze and apply gentle but firm pressure on the cut area.If the bleeding is not controlledafter 10-15 minutes with the icepack or pressure,then take your child to the dentist or to an emergency room.

Chipped tooth- A chipped or broken tooth due to an accident is very common in kids.This occurs usually due to fall or some contact sport.Very often,there could be some dirt in the affected area.Parents must first clean the area with warm water and gauze.Next,check the mouth to make sure that there are no broken tooth parts in the child’s mouth.You can immediately put a ice pack on the face to minimize the swelling.In case of bleeding a gauze or cotton pack may be applied.If your child has any pain or sensitivity in the broken tooth,then please take your child to see the dentist as the nerve may be damaged.The tooth will need a root canal or some other treatment if it is to be saved.I f your child has no pain or sensitivity,then you may not need to rust to the dentist immediately.But do call your child’s dentist and check if your child should be seen or not,and also fix an appointment for later to get the chipped tooth fixed.

Knocked out teeth- A tooth is knocked out in most cases due to extreme traumato the mouth.time is very vital if a tooth is lost and if you act fast,you can help save your child’stooth.If you get the dentist within an hour after the accident,then the dentist can reimplant the tooth and save it.

What to do if baby tooth is knocked out
• Parents must carefully wash the area and try to control the bleeding by putting gentle pressure on the area.
• Do not try and put the babytooth back in the mouth as your child may choke on it.
• If you have the tooth,then take it to the dentist with you.The dentist will want to check the baby’s tooth to make sure it is whole and no part is left in the gum as this may get infected.Keep the tooth in milk or salive during this time period.

What to do if permanent tooth is knocked out
• Time is very crucial! The child must be taken to the dentist or emergency room immediately.
• If the tooth is found,then hold it from the crown(the top chewing part) and not the root and rinse it gently under water.do not clean or scrub the tooth.
• Hold the tooth firmly by the crown and try to put it back into the tooth socket.
• If your child cannot hold it in the mouth,then put it in milk or saliva on your way to the dentist.
• If you follow all the above steps,you may be able to save your child’s tooth.