Pediatric dental emergencies include broken teeth, severe toothaches, and many other conditions. If your child is suffering from a pediatric dental emergency, the All Kids Dental team is here to help. When an emergency occurs, it’s important to seek treatment for your child as soon as possible. This can help save the tooth, if possible, and reduce the risk of extensive dental care.
8 Common Dental Emergencies
If your child is suffering from any of the following common dental emergencies, here are some tips for caring for your teeth until the fantastic team at All Kids Denta of Suffolk can provide appropriate dental care.
1. Severe Toothache
Toothaches can be more than just a painful nuisance. In some cases, toothaches are signals from your body that something is clearly not right. If your child has sudden inexplicable onset pain, contact our office for emergency treatment. Some toothaches can be caused by inflammation in the tooth or jaw and can be treated by applying a cold compress and taking over-the-counter anti-inflammatory and pain relief medication. Be sure to administer the appropriate amount for a child and let us know what medications have been taken before we start treatment.
2. Swollen or Bleeding Gums
Occasional gum irritation or gum bleeding that stops are signs of some oral health issues but are not considered emergencies. However, if your child’s gums do not stop bleeding, especially if accompanied by pain and swelling, you may want to call us for an emergency exam. It’s also not normal to have bleeding gums without any obvious cause or trauma. Our team is standing by to address any of these problems.
3. Swollen Jaw or Mouth
If your child’s mouth or jaw suddenly becomes swollen for no apparent reason, he/she may have a serious oral infection, irritation to your lymph nodes, or some other factor that should be treated right away. Dr. Joe and Dr. Brett can provide emergency care and may refer your child to one of our trusted specialists.
4. Extreme Sensitivity/Nerve Pain
Extreme sensitivity and nerve pain are excruciating experiences that will only get worse if you delay treatment. To prevent infections, further nerve damage, or more extensive dental treatments down the road, seek emergency dental assistance as soon as possible. Treatment usually includes root canal therapy.
5. Knocked-Out Tooth
When children play sports or are simply enjoying a day at the park, they often experience small injuries. On the rare occasion that it is more than just a small scape, you will be glad to know that the experts at All Kids Dental can help solve the issue. After a heavy impact on the head and face, it’s important to seek emergency medical care if your child is experiencing any signs of a concussion. If the impact was direct to the mouth, suddenly knocking out a tooth, it’s time to take quick action and see Dr. Joe or Dr. Brett. Once a tooth is removed from the mouth, it can be difficult to reinsert and preserve. Time is of the essence and you should be seen immediately.
Some Tips:
Pick up the tooth by the bottom, careful not to touch or damage the root. Rinse without scrubbing and if possible, reinsert the tooth into the open socket. If you can’t reinsert it easily, place the tooth in a small container of milk and get to our office as quickly as possible to increase the chances of saving the tooth.
6. Missing/Broken Filling
A missing or broken filling is a potential dental emergency because the tooth is left unprotected and may break or chip without the reinforcement the filling provides. If the filling was deep enough into the tooth, losing the filling may expose the tooth’s nerves, leading to common dental emergency #4 (above).
7. Lost or Broken Crown
A dental crown protects your child’s tooth from infection and damage. All of that protection is lost when a crown is lost or broken. By scheduling an emergency dental visit to replace the crown, your child may be able to avoid needing a root canal or even a tooth extraction.
8. Abscessed Tooth
Dental abscesses are not to be taken lightly. These potentially life-threatening infections can spread into the jaw, surrounding tissue, and other areas of your child’s body. Some symptoms that follow an abscess include fever, tooth sensitivity, toothache, tender lymph nodes, swelling in the face, and a pimple-like bump on the gums near the infected tooth.
We understand that dental emergencies can be extreme experiences. That is why All Kids Dental pediatric dentist office caters to our young patients by providing specialized dental care in a fun and relaxing environment. All our staff has extensive experience working with children and strive to keep all of our patients smiling.
