Dental Emergencies
Though dental emergencies like injury/trauma can occur at any point during childhood, children are most susceptible to them during the curious toddler years and during the pre-teen and adolescent years, when kids begin to participate in more vigorous sports.
More than 1 in 3 kids will experience a dental emergency during childhood or adolescence. Often, these dental emergencies are caused by injury to the teeth, gums, or soft tissues of the mouth.
Our goal is to see your child as quickly as we can when they need urgent care. In the meantime, there are plenty of things you can do to help them stay safe and make the situation as comfortable as possible.
You can follow the tips mentioned on this page for handling common emergencies, or we can give you additional advice on the phone if you need it.
My Child Has a Toothache/swelling
It’s a parent’s nightmare to be woken up at midnight by their child for intense pain or possible swelling. Before you do anything, give your child a glass of salt water to rinse their mouth, and help them floss around the tooth that’s hurting.
Sometimes simply removing debris stuck between the teeth can solve the problem. Ask them to sleep on the other side of swelling. Never do any hot fomentation.
Give them regular painkiller-Ibugesic Plus/Meftal Plus/Paracetamol in the dose as per weight or prescribed by the pediatrician. Call us in the morning and make an appointment at priority.
My Child has a chipped/broken baby Tooth
Most important- Don’t panic. Check the tooth and nearby gums to see if they’re bleeding.
You can stop the blood with a piece of clean cotton gauze with a pressure pack. Gather any broken pieces you can find and bring them with you, preferably stored in milk/saline water. It can be reattached.
Do not let your child eat any hard foods until after they’ve received treatment. Never do any hot fomentation.
Give them regular painkiller-Ibugesic Plus/Meftal Plus/Paracetamol in the dose as per weight or prescribed by the pediatrician. Call us immediately and make the appointment on priority.
My Child Has Knocked out a Baby Tooth
Sometimes a knocked-out baby tooth isn’t an issue at all, but in other cases, it could end up complicating your child’s oral development.
Call our clinic as soon as you can. We likely will not replant the tooth but will need to check for damage to the adjacent or developing permanent teeth.
Additional steps may be needed to prevent the drifting of other teeth into the gap.
My Child Has Knocked Out / Fractured / Broken a Permanent Tooth
Needless to say, losing a permanent tooth is much more worrisome than losing a baby tooth. Try to put the tooth back in its socket while being careful to only touch the part used for chewing, i.e., the crown part.
You can also keep it in a container of milk or a child’s own saliva. An appointment should be made within an hour of the accident as every minute counts.
Watch a treatment video of Reattachment of a permanent tooth of a 7.5-year-old child.