When Your Child Should Visit the Dentist Immediately

Posted March 19, 2020

To help keep your child’s smile consistently healthy throughout their early lives, you have to schedule and bring them to regular checkup and cleaning appointments at least once every six months. However, like their parents’ teeth, children’s teeth can sometimes experience concerns that are best dealt with as soon as possible. Waiting until the next scheduled checkup may give the problem time to grow worse. Today, we take a look at a few times when you should bring your child to the dentist’s office as soon as possible to help avoid more serious trouble later.

When they say their tooth hurts

Toothaches are common, and sometimes, it can be tempting to write off a child’s toothache complaint as nothing serious. However, healthy teeth should never hurt, and if your child complains of discomfort, it’s worth taking it seriously. Carefully inspect your child’s teeth to see if something may be lodged between them, and use floss to carefully remove it, if so. Otherwise, you should visit the dentist as soon as possible for a professional examination to determine what could be the source of the toothache, and how to alleviate it. For instance, if your child’s tooth is sensitive because the enamel has grown weak, then fluoride treatment might strengthen it and relieve the sensitivity. If a cavity has developed, then a biocompatible filling may be able to treat it and relieve the toothache while it’s still in its early stages.

When one of their teeth is visibly damaged

There are many potential reasons for your child to develop a toothache, and tooth damage is a significant one. In addition to the discomfort, your child might complain of how the tooth feels (i.e., a jagged edge where a piece has broken off). If you can see the damage to your child’s tooth, then an emergency treatment to the dentist’s office may be an obvious need. The longer you wait, the more your child will have to deal with the pain and the potential harm to other teeth and oral tissues. The damaged tooth can also become even more compromised, and threaten your child’s immediate and long-term oral health.

When they complain of an uncomfortable bite

Your child’s complaint about their oral health might not be as specific as a pained tooth or a damaged tooth edge. More vague concerns, such as their bite “not feeling right” can sometimes be easier to disregard, but they may also indicate much more serious underlying problems with your child’s bite function and oral health. For instance, an imbalanced bite is often a direct result of tooth misalignment, even if your child’s teeth aren’t obviously crooked. It might also indicate undue tooth wear and damage that isn’t immediately noticeable, but has become severe enough to impact your child’s overall bite function.

Schedule a dental visit for your child

If your child complains of these or other issues with their teeth or oral tissues, then you should schedule a visit as soon as possible to determine the cause. To learn more, schedule an appointment by calling Pediatric Dental Care at Casa Linda in Dallas, TX today at 214-321-4880. We proudly serve patients who live around Casa Linda and all surrounding Dallas communities.