What You Should Know About Dental Emergencies

Posted July 11, 2022

Dental emergencies can happen for a number of reasons, from biting down on hard objects like pens or ice, or a sports related injury. Without treatment, this could mean eventual cavities or infection. To avoid this, your Dallas, TX, pediatric dentist could offer dental emergency treatment, and advice for easing initial discomfort.

Give Us a Call

When a dental emergency happens, even outside of our normal business hours, please give us a call. We will return this call and arrange for a time to see your child for treatment. Often, treatment helps prevent discomfort and minor injuries from leading to cavities and painful dental infections. Examples of common dental emergencies include cracked or chipped teeth, loose or knocked-out teeth, unexplained pain or objects caught between them, or loose or missing crowns and fillings.

Easing Pain

When faced with common scenarios like the ones we listed above, you need to see us right away for treatment. However, you can take steps to ease your Childress discomfort before they arrive at the office. You can offer them age-appropriate over-the-counter pain relievers to ease discomfort. If a tooth is damaged, be sure to bring any pieces you can recover with you. Following the emergency, have them rinse with warm water and then use cloth or gauze to stem any bleeding. An ice pack or cold compress to the side of the face could reduce facial swelling too. You can gently floss on either side of the tooth to dislodge objects. If a tooth is knocked out completely, pick it up the crown, never touch the root. Rinse away dirt and place it in the socket and have your child gently bite down to keep in place. It can also be put in a glass of milk or salt water as well. Bring it with you to the office!

Potential Treatments

We can often use composite resin, the same material employed in our fillings, to repair very minor chips. We can employ crowns for more severe damage. Our team can replace any compromised or missing crowns and fillings as well.

Mouthguards

To help protect children who play full contact sports or martial arts, we can provide a mouthguard, which protects the teeth from injury and being knocked loose. Good oral hygiene habits also reduce the risk of cavities, ensuring your child’s teeth are strong and better able to withstand damage. If you have any questions, give us a call today!

Do You Have Any Questions?

Our team is ready to address damaged teeth and even offer ways to protect teeth from injury. If you have any questions about how we protect and repair little smiles, then contact your Dallas, TX pediatric dentist, Dr. Marr, by calling (214) 321-4880.