Know How to Handle Dental Emergencies for Your Child
Children are such gentle beings. Everything about them seems so precious, yet so fragile. At the core of every parents’ goal is to protect the life of their children, and health thereof. Unfortunately, this need rarely accounts for emergencies that come up. No matter how proactive you are with your kids, when emergencies happen, they always seem to get you off guard.
Dental emergencies can be frightening, but if you can put your foot down, your child may just survive through some of the scariest oral emergencies ever.
What Are Dental Emergencies?
They are certain oral conditions, featuring infections and damages, that are rather urgent and critical. In most cases, the dental emergencies happen in the least expected hours, leaving you at a crossroads on how to handle your child’s oral health.
Caring for your child’s oral health is say when nothing is wrong. Sometimes, even when there is a problem, you can get to a dentist at Kids First Dental in good time. However, with dental emergencies, it is a new level of concern. Things happen so fast that you need to create a new strategy for coping, while at the moment. Luckily, this is why emergency dentistry exists.
What Are Oral Emergencies for Kids?
Oral emergencies are more or less similar for children and adults. At emergency dental, some of the common oral emergencies we see are:
- Continuous bleeding – it can be on the gums or lips and inner cheeks. Usually, children experience this emergency after an accident or injury.
- Knocked-out teeth – since children are not particularly careful when they play and interact with their environs, knocked out teeth are not surprising.
- Severe toothaches – cavities and dental decay have to blame for most toothaches that children experience.
- Broken or missing oral appliances – this applies to children who have already received treatment before from a pediatric dentist in Lancaster. When dental appliances like metal braces get damaged, you should consider it a dental emergency.
- Significant swelling – the swelling can be around the face, or inside the mouth. It could be an indication of an infection of the tooth or even tonsillitis.
- Biting the tongue or lips – if the bite is too deep, it can cause significant pain, bleeding, and swelling.
- Broken jaw – any open or closed fracture on the jaw area should be alarming.
How To Handle Dental Emergencies
Frankly, when you have a dental emergency in your hands, you always seem to run out of ideas of what to do. Dr. Sylvester Adu Boahene talks of how important it is for parents to get themselves together for the sake of their kids. At such time, your child depends on you, before they get to a dental expert in an ER. Therefore, what to do during the first couple of minutes before you get to an emergency dentist for children will make a big difference When in urgency follow these steps:
- Stop the bleeding – find the source of the bleeding, usually an open wound. Use gauze or clean cloth to control the bleeding.
- Use pain meds – over-the-counter pain medication can help manage the pain levels of your child before you get to an emergency dental clinic.
- Find the missing tooth – the lost tooth can still be restored in its socket if preserved properly. However, you still need to get to a dental clinic in good time for the tooth to be restored. When you find the tooth, be sure to keep it moist in a container. You can even dip it in milk. This is specific for adult teeth, as opposed to baby teeth. Avoid touching the root part of the tooth to prevent spreading bacteria to it.
- Cold compress – this works as a great alternative to reduce pain and swelling. Place a cold compress on the side of the face with the swelling, for a couple of minutes.
- Use warm salty water – ask your child to gargle the saltwater. This will help remove any active bacteria in the mouth and rinse off any blood.