Did you know that over 51 million school hours are lost every year due to dental disease in children? These statistics are staggering, and health departments are taking notice.
Fortunately, there is a dental specialty called pediatric dentistry that specializes in children and children’s dental emergencies. These can be wide-ranging, but a lost tooth is one of the most common causes for seeing an emergency pediatric dentist. The kids’ dentist understands how to replace or repair a knocked out tooth so that it won’t affect their future development.
Are you reading this article because you’re looking for an emergency dentist for your child?
In this article, we will walk you through everything you need to know about finding the best dentist for your child’s dental emergency.
What Constitutes A Pediatric Dental Emergency?
A fall or other abrupt accident might lead to a pediatric dental emergency.
Other problems like damage to the teeth or bacterial infection may also be to blame in certain cases. Toothaches and other oral trauma are worrisome for kids and their caregivers both when a tooth is damaged or knocked out completely. When faced with a situation like this, it is important to know how to respond so you can get timely care.
For parents, it’s essential to know who to contact in the case your child has a dental emergency. There is no guarantee that your personal dentist is on call when you phone in for a recommendation to a pediatric dentist.
Furthermore, when a kid has a dental emergency, quick treatment is nearly always required to preserve the tooth. Life or death of the tooth may be at stake in an emergency situation that requires urgent attention.
Fortunately, parents may avoid such dire repercussions by asking their child’s pediatric dentist for the name, number, and location of a reputable emergency dentist in advance. Most dentists are delighted to share this information with their patients.
What To Do, According to the Mayo Clinic
When your kid loses a tooth, it may be a frightening experience for you and your family. As a result, it’s critical to provide instant comfort and empathy to those in distress.
Afterward, locate the missing tooth to see whether it can be re-implanted.
We recommend that you follow the Mayo Clinic’s instructions:
Handle your child’s tooth using the crown rather than the roots to avoid damaging the roots. Make sure that there aren’t signs of cracks or other damage before proceeding.
Avoid rinsing your teeth with tap water if they are stained. Use a basin of water from the tap warmed up to room temperature to quickly clean it. Keeping the tooth roots intact is essential since they’ll be required for reattachment in the future.
Gently bite down on damp gauze or a paper towel to try to re-insert the tooth. Bite down as hard as you can till you go to the dentist.
A tiny jar of saliva or cold milk might be used as a substitute for your tooth if it cannot be placed in the socket. If you have easy access to pharmacies, there are other over-the-counter options.
As soon as you can, schedule an appointment with your dentist for treatment. If they’re closed, go to the hospital.
And take a deep breath. Neither you nor your kid will be harmed over the long term, so just relax and let the dental team take over.
What Is The Worst That Could Happen?
Your dentist is likely to be able to repair a knocked-out permanent tooth as long as it’s been thoroughly removed. Splinting it to adjacent teeth with a tiny metal or plastic wire is really pretty straightforward.
Ligaments that attach the mandible or maxilla to the tooth are expected to regenerate during the following several weeks. Your team will take off the splint as soon as the tooth has reattached itself and is strong enough.
In contrast, a baby tooth that has been knocked out may need the use of a space maintainer. We all know that our children’s baby teeth ultimately fall out on their own.
But if it’s done too soon, it might cause overcrowding, crooked teeth, and difficulties eating. Guidelines from the American Dental Association say that your teeth may stretch out and not provide enough space for the permanent tooth behind the knocked-off tooth to erupt appropriately. Space maintainers may be used to keep the region open where a missing tooth was so that a permanent one can erupt in its proper position.
In Case of Fracture
The most common cause of tooth fractures in children is a fall from a bike or a tree or a jungle gym. It is possible that the bleeding from a cracked tooth may not be obvious. To avoid infection, it is important to seek immediate care for this sort of juvenile dental emergency.
Untreated fractures might shatter into several pieces. If this happens, conserving the tooth may be improved by retaining the fragmented pieces as intact as feasible.
It’s not a big deal if one piece can’t be retrieved. It’s not uncommon to have this side effect after a fracture. A wet piece of gauze should be placed over the afflicted tooth, and the youngster should push gently on the surface of the tooth to keep it in place.
Finding A Pediatric Dentist After a Lost Tooth
At the end of the day, a lost tooth isn’t a reason to sweat, as long as you have the capacity to reach a pediatric dentist quickly. It’s always good to have an ongoing relationship with a pediatric dental provider so that you can reach out to them in the event of an emergency. We recommend following the Mayo Clinic guidelines above in the event that your child loses the tooth on the playground or at home.
If you enjoyed this article about pediatric dentistry, please check out the other articles on our blog or give us a call today to set up an appointment!