Does Your Child’s Tooth Hurt? Here’s What You Should Know

Posted June 25, 2020

Children are great at exaggerating, but when it comes to complaints about their dental health, it’s always safer to take them seriously. For example, if your child complains of a toothache, it could be a warning sign of something more significant, such as a cavity. Even if your child exaggerates the level of pain they feel, the fact that the tooth hurts at all may be an important warning. Today, we examine a few things you should know if your child’s tooth hurts, including what it could mean and how we can help alleviate the problem.

Why your child’s teeth can start to hurt

When your child’s tooth becomes sensitive or starts to hurt, it can mean one of many different things. For example, mild sensitivity may mean the enamel around the tooth is getting weak, allowing the main tooth structure to feel more irritation from things like food, beverages, oral bacteria, and more. If the pain is more significant, then it may mean a cavity has developed in the tooth, or a piece of the tooth may have become damaged. What most toothaches have in common, however, is that they mean the health of your child’s tooth may be compromised in some way, and professional treatment may be the only way to alleviate the discomfort.

How we alleviate your child’s toothache

To help avoid further damage to your child’s tooth, it’s important to schedule a dental visit to address your child’s toothache as soon as possible. If the pain is severe, this may require an emergency dental visit immediately. The first step to alleviating the discomfort is to carefully examine your child’s tooth and oral health to determine the exact cause of it, then recommend an appropriate treatment option to address it. For example, if your child’s tooth enamel is weak, but still intact, then we may be able to strengthen it with fluoride and/or protect it with a biocompatible sealant. If a cavity has developed or the tooth has been damaged, then we can customize an appropriate child’s restorative treatment to repair and restore the tooth’s health and integrity.

Learn what to do if your child has a toothache

If your child’s tooth hurts, it’s important to take the warning sign seriously and schedule a visit to your child’s dentist as soon as possible. To learn more,  or to schedule an appointment, call 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.