Tackling A Child’s Dental Emergency
When a tooth is chipped or cracked, or when your child complains about pain in a tooth, then you may need to bring him or her in for an emergency treatment. Immediate care could help prevent issues like tooth decay or infection! In today’s blog, your Dallas, TX, pediatric dentist talks about how we treat dental emergencies for kids.
How Dental Emergencies Happen
A dental emergency is essentially any pain or injury in the teeth, gums, and oral structure that isn’t life threatening, but still requires immediate attention. These could happen due to injuries when playing sports or martial arts, or by accidents like falling. Biting down on ice, popcorn kernels, and cueing on pens or pencils could also injure a tooth. Discomfort could be brought on by untreated cavities and infections. Treating the issue right away is essential for avoiding complications like tooth decay and dental infection, which could compromise a tooth and even spread to other parts of the smile without treatment.
Easing Discomfort
When your child chips a tooth, try to pick up any pieces to bring to the office. Rinse with warm water and use a gauze to stem any bleeding. A cold compress or ice pack to the side of the face could ease swelling. If a tooth hurts or has an object caught between it and another tooth, rinse with warm water and gently floss on either side of the tooth. If a tooth is knocked out, pick it up by the crown, not the root, and rinse away dirt under running water. Put the tooth in a glass of milk or salt water and bring it to the office with you. You can also offer your children age-appropriate pain relievers to ease discomfort until they can see us. If a crown or filling is loose or lost, try to keep your child from very hot or cold foods and drinks or items high in sugar, as this could increase discomfort.
Repairing Your Child’s Tooth
When your child arrives, we will carefully examine the teeth and choose the most appropriate treatment option. Composite resin could be used to address minor damage in one visit, and we can also discuss zirconia and stainless-steel dental crowns too. To protect teeth, we could provide a custom mouthguard as well. If you have any questions about how we approach dental emergencies for children, and repair little smiles, then contact our team today to learn more.
Your Dallas, TX, Pediatric Dentist Offers Emergency Dentistry
We want to prevent damage from threatening a little smile. If you would like to learn more about how we treat common dental emergencies or protect teeth from injuries and cavities, then contact your Dallas, TX pediatric dentist, Dr. Marr, by calling (214) 321-4880.
filed under: Dental Emergencies