The last thing any parent wants is for their child to undergo a dental emergency. Especially the morning before a big event, or late at night when most dental offices are closed.
While very few dental emergencies can wait until the next morning, others need to be taken care of as soon as possible before it becomes too late to fix.
How exactly should parents deal with a dental emergency for their child?
If your child is experiencing severe pain or continuous oral bleeding, that will constitute a dental emergency. Another is if their tooth’s structure has been compromised. This may come about because they fell or suffered some injury, as children often will.
If this happens, treat it as a dental emergency. Common dental emergencies include knocked out teeth, fractured or chipped teeth, toothaches, dental intrusion, root fracture, or a tooth displacement.
Keep the knocked-out tooth wet by gently returning it to the socket or placing it in milk. Make sure to hold the tooth by the crown and not the root. Rinse the child’s mouth with plain warm water and keep a cold compress on the face to ease the pain en route to the dentist. Some children’s Tylenol is okay if the pain is bad.
Begin by flossing and rinsing with warm water. Apply a cold compress to the cheek on the side of the toothache to soothe discomfort. Use children’s Tylenol if needed.
Rinse with warm water to get rid of blood and debris. Place gauze on the bleeding area and apply pressure for more than 45 minutes to stop the bleeding.
In case of any dental emergency, call your pediatric dentist immediately to get your child the help they need.
