Executive Chronicles | Common Pediatric Dental Emergencies to Know About | When’s the best time for parents to start caring about their kids’ oral health?
It may surprise you to learn that it should begin during pregnancy. Pregnant women are more prone to gum disease and cavities, most likely because nausea could be preventing them from practicing good dental health habits.
Unfortunately, the mother’s dental wellbeing could also affect the baby’s health. Now, if you or your partner have seen a dentist during pregnancy, that’s great. After that, you can follow their advice for taking care of your child’s teeth and gums from infancy onwards, but what about pediatric dental emergencies?
How do you take care of those? The first step is, of course, knowing what those emergency dental problems are. Here are some of them.
Objects Stuck in the Mouth
If food particles or small items get caught in your child’s mouth, you can use dental floss to remove them gently.
You only need to see a children’s emergency dentist if the object is still there after flossing. Remember not to use sharp or pointed instruments to get rid of the stuck item. The last thing you want is to cause an accident that truly needs emergency dental treatment.
Toothache
A toothache may not seem like one of those emergency dental problems that require an immediate visit to a pediatric dentist. However, it won’t do your kid any good if you ignore it.
If, after checking, you see that there’s no object stuck between the teeth, you can rinse your child’s mouth with warm water. You can also apply a cold compress over the affected area.
Another thing to keep in mind is don’t give aspirin or crush one and put it on the aching tooth. It could burn the gum tissue. If your child still feels pain, it would be best to see their dentist right away.
Cracked/Knocked-Out Tooth
There are dental problems in children, and there are Problems with a capital P. The latter includes a cracked tooth and a knocked-out permanent or milk tooth.
If your kid cracks a tooth, clean the area by rinsing their mouth with warm water. Cold compresses are also a must to bring any swelling down. Don’t wait and see a pediatric emergency dentist asap.
For a knocked-out tooth, again, time is of the essence. Remember that a milk tooth doesn’t need to be moistened, but a permanent one needs to be in a container with a tooth preservation product or milk. Of course, the sooner you can see a dentist, the better.
Other Pediatric Dental Emergencies
Lost fillings, bleeding caused by an accidental tongue/lip bite, tooth displacement, root fracture, and dental abscess are also considered dental emergencies.
Don’t wait for these conditions to worsen, and be sure to see a pediatric dentist STAT!
Does Your Child Need to See a Pediatric Dentist?
Now that you know some common pediatric dental emergencies, do you think your child should see a pediatric dentist?
Rather than waiting it out, it’s best to go to your dentist and have things checked out. If it’s nothing serious, then that’s good, but if it does turn out to be a true emergency, then you’ll be glad that someone is addressing the situation appropriately.
If you don’t have a dentist yet, you can check out this dentist in Woodbridge and they’ll be more than happy to assist you and your child.
For more dental tips and advice, we invite you to check out our site.
