Dental Trauma and What To Do

Active children will often fall or run into things and can hurt themselves. Occasionally, your child may experience dental trauma in the form of a chipped or knocked-out tooth during play.

Having your child wear a mouth guard while playing contact sports will prevent most dental trauma. If you have questions about mouth guards, please ask us during your next visit!

If whatever caused your child’s dental injury also involved a severe blow to the head or jaw, your child will need immediate medical attention and emergency care. Any damaged teeth are secondary and can be addressed later.

If your child has chipped a tooth, rinse their mouth out and try to find the piece of tooth that is missing. If you find it, put it in milk and bring it to your child’s next dental visit. We may be able to bond it back together.

If your child is having trouble breathing and you cannot find the missing piece of tooth, there is a chance it may be in their lungs. They will need to go to the emergency room as soon as possible.

The most significant dental emergency is if a child knocks out a permanent tooth. Remain calm and find the tooth. Rinse the tooth with only water and hold it by the crown, not the root of the tooth. Try to reinsert the tooth into the hole in the mouth. This will give the tooth the best prognosis. If that is not possible, put it in a glass of milk and bring your child to our office or the emergency room.

Do not attempt to reinsert a baby tooth! It can damage the developing permanent tooth. If you have more questions on how to care for your child’s teeth, contact us or read more here!