ACCIDENTS HAPPEN when we least expect them. Imagine your at a friend’s or family pick-nick having fun, when a crying child runs up to you with knocked-out tooth in their hand. What should you do?
Dental First Aid Saves Teeth
Knocking out (luxating is the technical term) or breaking a tooth can be particularly distressing especially for children – just thinking about it can make you wince! But if you know what to do after the accident you can save the tooth! This is your 3 step guide for dealing with such a dental emergency:
- Carefully pick up the tooth
- Keep the tooth damp
- Get to the dentist immediately
Pick up the tooth by the enamel part, do not touch the root. If necessary, gently rinse the tooth in water or milk, but do not scrub or brush the root.
Ideally you want to put the tooth back in the socket where it came from and hold it in place with fingers or by gently biting on some tissue. If you can’t re-implant the tooth, keep it in milk (not water) or inside the ‘accident victim’s’ cheek until you can get help.
For the best chance of saving the tooth get to your dentist or an emergency dentist within an hour.
Prevent Dental Injuries
Accidents happen, that’s life, but you can take 3 simple precautions to help prevent tooth damage:
- Wearing a mouthguard for contact sports
- Don’t chew extremely hard foods or ice
- Don’t open packages with your teeth! Use scissors
Teeth are strong and they can last a lifetime if you take care to keep them healthy and safe!
We’re Here To Help You
Part of what makes a child dental accident or injury so traumatic is the thought that the damage could be permanent. Even if we cannot save the tooth we have techniques and the knowledge to restore their smile! If your child ever has a dental accident or emergency come and see us as soon as possible.
Hopefully we’ve given you some useful tips on how to deal with a child’s dental accident and how to avoid them in the first place. If you have any questions leave a comment below. Remember to protect your teeth!
Top image by Flickr user Melissa Wiese used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.
