What to Do if Your Child Broke Their Tooth
Is a broken child tooth an emergency? Injuries and accidents are a normal part of children as they grow up. But sometimes teeth can sustain injury and need to be evaluated.
The thought of your child breaking a tooth is often traumatic. If your kid has a broken tooth, it may not necessarily cause pain, but the pain can be unbearable if the break affects the nerve. It is vital to get it checked as soon as possible, but here are a few top things you should do immediately.
Rinse Your Child’s Mouth
The first step includes rinsing the mouth and note that you should use warm water. Rinsing helps in clearing away dirt and blood that may still be lingering in the mouth, keeping the damaged area clean.
Compress for Swelling or Pain
In case your child experiences swelling, pain, or soreness, you should apply compression. You should offer your child a cold compress on the face for less than 15 minutes. Doing this can help prevent further numbness, reduce the swelling and do away with the pain.
Administer medication
Though optional, if your child complains of severe pain, you may offer pain medication to help reduce the pain. Common medications include over-the-counter treatment, acetaminophen, and children’s ibuprofen. Medicines are an effective way to deal with the pain directly.
Preserve the Tooth and Bring to the Dentist
If the tooth is displaced entirely, you should put it in a container and bring it directly to the dentist. And if you want to ‘save’ it, you should ensure you keep it moist. You can use water, cold milk, saline solution, or saliva to keep it moist.
Contact a Dentist
Timing is of the essence, especially if you want the broken tooth to get reattached. So, ensure that you contact your family dentist as soon as possible and bring with you the tooth fragment for reattaching.
Later on, ensure you keep up with all dental appointments to monitor the tooth and heal correctly. Failure to adhere to this can result in dental problems that your dentist can easily detect and provide the proper treatment.
For anyone living in Lehi, Utah, you can visit your nearest dental clinic to handle such a situation. Always ensure you prioritize your kid’s health, and you can begin by fostering good oral health.