Are You Ready For Your Child's Dental Emergencies?
Posted on: 21 May 2015
As a parent, you have to be ready for just about anything that you can imagine. Dental emergencies can happen at any given time, so do you know how to handle the situation if your child was to have a tooth knocked out while playing in the back yard or gets hit in the mouth with a baseball during the big game?
Stay Calm
When you see something like this happen, you could quickly begin to lose your mind. Do your best to stay calm, because if you react badly, your child could mirror your reaction. Stop, take a big breath, and work to keep your child as calm as possible.
Take Head Injuries Seriously
If the dental emergency was caused by any blow to your child's head, call the doctor or go to the ER immediately. Head injuries are often overlooked when they should be treated by a doctor. Concussions happen more often than parents realize and waiting for treatment could put your child at risk. Put the dental injury second to the potential head injury.
Decrease the Swelling
Swelling can occur quickly. Your family's first aid kit should be equipped with a few of the instant ice packs, and you should have a few readily available ice packs in your freezer. At the first possible moment, wrap an ice pack in a thin towel and place it over the area that has sustained the injury. This will help to maintain control of the swelling that could quickly get very bad.
Stop the Bleeding
Sterile gauze is one thing that every home with children should have handy. If your child's mouth is bleeding, pack the area with clean, sterile gauze to attempt to get control of the bleeding. If the gauze becomes saturated, repack it with new gauze. Once you get the bleeding to slow, examine the injury. Is the tooth loose, knocked out completely, cracked or chipped?
If the tooth is missing, try to find it. There is a good chance that your dentist will be able to put the tooth back in place if you act quickly. Pick the tooth up by the crown, not the root. Store the tooth in a container of milk to preserve the roots and protect it from damage while you transport it to the dentist's office.
Have your emergency dentist's number in your wallet, in your car and somewhere easy to find in your home. Remember, the outcome of dental emergencies rely on fast action, so don't put the treatment off for another day.
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