Taking Your Child To An Emergency Dentist

A dental emergency can spring out of nowhere, and when they do they often come with a lot of worry. These worries are amplified when it’s your child that is going through the pain. Knowing when it is an actual emergency is critical to ensuring the overall wellbeing of your child. Generally speaking, there are three main problems that are considered dental emergencies for a young person. These are outlined below, to help alleviate the stresses and provide you with the correct information to work from.

CRACKED OR BROKEN TEETH

It is an incredibly common accident, but cracking or breaking a tooth can also bring with it a lot of pain. Children in particular are prone to these accidents – usually from playing too rough or from a fall. The good news is that, by and large, chips and cracks are an easy thing to fix. With all dental problems, dealing with it sooner rather than later is a priority, but the faster you get a crack fixed the more chance there is that it will heal with no issue. If it is a small chip, the tooth may just be ground smooth. Larger chips and cracks may require bonding or even veneers. However, all of these are relatively painless, straightforward procedures.

KNOCKED-OUT TEETH

If your child has lost a baby tooth before it has had time to fall out, worry not. However, if it is one of their adult teeth that has been knocked out, it is considered a dental emergency and must be dealt with quickly. If you can make it to the dentist’s chair within 15 minutes, there is a much greater chance of the tooth surviving. Firstly, make sure you can find the tooth that has been lost so that the dentist can attempt to save it. Be sure to hold the tooth by the crown and not the root, as the root can be damaged this way. Transport it in a balanced salt solution, milk or your childs saliva. Do not place the tooth in tap water, as this can damage it.

DENTAL ABSCESS

This is probably the most serious dental emergency, and should be dealt with immediately. The dental abscess is a buildup of bacterial infection inside the tooth. It is usually caused when a chipped part of the tooth lets bacteria in to fester. If there is any facial swelling or severe pain from the area, it is most likely an abscess. The best treatment method for an abscess is a root canal, which can be quite dramatic but is usually painless.