Pediatric Dental Emergencies

Do you know what to do if your child has a dental emergency? There are many ways a child can experience dental trauma. A painful toothache, an injury while at play, or an accident involving their face or mouth. These very difficult situations call for quick action to resolve the situation and relieve any pain.

Keep reading to find out about the most common childhood dental emergencies and the steps to take to alleviate them—including when to call your pediatric dentist.

Mouth Injury

It can be incredibly painful to accidentally bite down on your tongue, cheek, or lip, regardless of your age. This can happen while you're eating or in a fall or accident. Such injuries to the inside of your mouth are minor more often than not. However, you will want to make sure that the injury does not require medical assistance.

First, clean the area as gently as you can with water. Apply a cold compress to reduce any swelling. If there is any bleeding, apply pressure with a clean cloth or some gauze.

If either the swelling or bleeding doesn't cease, call your pediatric dentist for an emergency appointment, being sure to explain the nature of the injury.

Head Injury

There are a variety of reasons your child may take a blow to the head. They may be taking part in sports, in a car accident, or take a nasty fall. Some of these head injuries may result in dental trauma. If your child has a head injury, it's vital to seek immediate medical assistance. Even seemingly minor head injuries can be dangerous.

Dental trauma such as severe swelling around the jaw or gums or uncontrollable bleeding may require more intensive care than a pediatric dentist can provide. In these cases, get your child to the emergency room as soon as possible.

Knocked-Out Tooth

A soccer ball right to the mouth. A bump in the carpet that causes a sudden tumble. A fall off their bike. There are many accidents which may result in a knocked-out tooth (or teeth). The first order of business after any type of accident is to check for serious injury. If your child has hit their head, call 911 or take them immediately to the emergency room. Depending on how old they are, your child may accidentally knock out baby teeth or permanent teeth. Each one has its own recommendations.

Baby Teeth

Baby teeth do not have the long root of a permanent tooth, so it can be easy to knock loose or completely out. The loss of a baby tooth in an accident isn't necessarily an emergency. If your child has knocked out a baby tooth, call your pediatric dentist to learn whether or not a visit is in order. If you've found it, it may be helpful to take the tooth with you to your child's appointment.

Permanent Teeth

A knocked-out permanent tooth is a dental emergency. After you've done a check for serious injuries, see if you can locate the tooth that's been dislodged. Try to handle it by the crown—avoid touching the tooth's root. Continuing to hold it by the crown, clean it with water (no soap).

The tooth needs to stay moist if there's any hope of re-implanting it. If it will go back into its socket in your child's mouth, have them hold it in place with a piece of gauze. If this is not possible, place the tooth in a container of milk or saline to take with you to the dentist or hospital. If there are no injuries requiring a visit to the emergency room, make an emergency appointment with your pediatric dentist.

Broken or Fractured Jaw

A potentially broken or fractured jaw is very serious and should be handled with care. If your child injures their jaw to the point that it’s possible the jaw is fractured or broken, get a cold compress on it right away to reduce any swelling. Encourage your child to keep their jaw still. Place a call to your pediatric dentist as quickly as you can to make an emergency appointment.

Painful Toothache/Tooth Sensitivity

Tooth pain can range anywhere from mild to severe. It can be caused by something as simple as a piece of food stuck between two teeth, or it can be a symptom of something much larger, such as an infection or a cavity. If your child is complaining of tooth pain, the first thing to do is rinse out their mouth thoroughly. If you believe a food remnant might be the cause of their pain, use a piece of floss to try to remove it (not something sharp or pointy). If this doesn't prove to be the solution, it's time to call your pediatric dentist to secure the next available appointment.

While you wait to see the dentist, it can be tempting to put ice in place to numb the area causing your child's pain. This can damage gum tissue. Instead, use a cold compress to dull the pain. If it isn't pain your child is complaining of, but rather sensitivity to hot or cold foods, this can be a symptom of a larger issue, such as a cavity or abscess. This is also a case where you should make an immediate visit to the dentist to figure out the source of the problem.

Object Stuck Inside Your Child's Mouth

If there's a piece of food trapped in your child's mouth, first try using floss to get it out. Never use something sharp near your child's teeth or gums. If floss doesn't do the trick, give your dentist a call. They will have the right tools to take care of that stubborn piece of food.

Dental Abscess/Infection

An abscess is an infection that forms inside a tooth's root. Left untreated, it can cause a whole host of issues, including:

• Pain when biting
• Facial swelling
• Tooth sensitivity
• Severe and persistent toothache
• Fever
• Swollen lymph nodes around jaw and/or neck
• Breathing difficulty

If your child is exhibiting any of these symptoms, it's important to get them to a dentist as soon as possible to determine the extent of the infection. If their fever is high, any swelling is extensive, or they are having difficulty breathing, call 911 or get them to the emergency room immediately.

Dental Fillings: Lost or Loose

It can happen out of the blue—your child bites down on something the wrong way and they loosen or completely lose a filling. When this happens, the part of the tooth under the filling is now exposed. This may attract bacteria or cause uncomfortable tooth sensitivity. In order to avoid any complications, it's important to get your child to the dentist quickly to repair or replace the filling.

So, Your Child Has an Emergency…

Tooth troubles can happen in an instant. Your child can be fine one minute, then in pain the next. It's important to stay calm and do what needs to be done to get your child some relief. If your child is experiencing a dental emergency, don't hesitate to give Dr. Beanca Chu’s Children's Dentistry a call or let us know online. We'll help figure out exactly what's wrong and get your child on the road to recovery.