Dental Trauma Treatment
Dr. Kelly Jobe | Pediatric Dentist | St. Louis, MO
Dental Trauma Treatement
If your toddler has toddled too hard, or your child fell, had a sports injury or rough-housed a little too much, you might be dealing with an injured tooth. Tooth injuries in kids are very common – so common that almost 50% of children will get a tooth injury during childhood. That’s why we dentists have a love / hate relationship with skateboards…
But don’t worry! We’ll give you the info you need to prep the injury, so that a dentist can more effectively fix the problem. We will also tell you what treatment options are available, depending on the injury, age of the child and whether it’s a baby or adult tooth.
Step 1: call us!
We will give you steps to take to take care of some of the most common dental emergencies, but your first step is always to call us! We will give you specific instructions over the phone on what to do before you bring your child in. That will be much faster than trying to Google what to do while your child is in pain or bleeding.
Instructions for your specific situation will also vary based on the injury, age of your child and whether it’s an adult or baby tooth, so it’s always best to call.
If your child doesn’t have a dental emergency right now, it might be a good idea to print out these steps and stick them on your fridge. That way you can be prepared in case of a knocked
Knocked out tooth
If your child’s tooth is completely knocked out (tooth avulsion):
- Find the tooth
- Take the tooth by the crown (the chewing end, not the root) and rinse it with water (no soap)
- Place the tooth in a clean container filled with milk or your child’s saliva
- Call us immediately
If your child’s baby tooth got knocked out, it might be tempting to just leave it be and not call a dentist. But baby teeth are extremely important! When a baby tooth is knocked out prematurely, that can cause adult teeth to emerge in the wrong place or out of alignment. Be sure to give us a call so that we can prevent this from happening.
If your child’s adult tooth got knocked out, the tooth has a better chance of being saved if it gets replaced within minutes. That’s why it’s important to follow the above steps, and call a dentist immediately.
loose tooth
If your child’s tooth is loose, it’s usually best to remove the tooth so that your child doesn’t accidentally choke on it while sleeping.
broken tooth
If your child has a broken, chipped or fractured tooth, rinse their mouth out with warm water, then use a cold compress to ease any pain and reduce swelling. Try to find the missing tooth fragment, and be sure to call us.
General injuries to the mouth or gums
If your child’s teeth or gums get injured:
- If the area is bleeding, apply pressure with a piece of cold, wet gauze. If possible, ask your child to bite down on the gauze.
- Give your child an ice cube or popsicle to suck on, which will reduce pain and swelling. You can also wrap an ice pack with a washcloth, then apply it to their cheek.
- Give ibuprofen or acetaminophen for pain, as needed
- Call us
- Keep an eye on the child for continued pain, swelling, fever, or change in tooth color
Questions for Dr. Jobe or the Kids Smiles Pediatric Dentistry team?
Dr. Kelly Jobe and the team at Kids Smiles Pediatric Dentistry are committed to providing the best pediatric dental care in the greater St. Louis, MO area! Please contact us with any questions regarding your kid’s dental health, we are here to help!
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Dr. Kelly Jobe & her staff are passionate about providing the best pediatric dental care in St. Louis, MO!
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Kids Smiles Pediatric Dentistry
9735 Landmark Parkway Dr.
Suite #16 St. Louis, MO 63127 - (314) 270-5817
- info@kidssmilesdentist.com
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