A Guide to Dealing with Your Child's Dental Emergency

Health & Medical Blog

No matter how much care you take with your children's health, emergencies can happen. For that reason, it's good to be prepared. This guide will tell you what essential items you should have on hand for dental emergencies and how to deal with some of the big ones.

Your Essential Dental First Aid Kit and How to Use It

• A Variety of Painkillers: Keep a variety of over-the-counter painkillers in your dental first aid kit. This should include ibuprofen, which can be used to reduce swelling and manage pain. You can add some natural topical painkillers too. For example, clove oil can be useful for toothaches.
• Dental Cement: Dental cement can be purchased from most pharmacies. You can use it to fill holes and cracks in your child's teeth until you can get a dental appointment
• Orthodontic Wax: You'll know what this is if your children have braces. Even if your child doesn't have braces, it's still good to have orthodontic wax to hand. It can be used to cover a gap in the event of a lost filling. The wax will temporarily fill the hole until you get to a dentist.
• Dental Floss: You'll probably have this in your bathroom, but it's good to keep some in your first aid box too. It can be used for a toothache that's caused by food trapped in a tooth.
• A Stock of Gauze: Gauze can be used to stem any bleeding and for a loose or knocked-out tooth. If your child's tooth is bleeding, apply gauze and put pressure on the wound until the bleeding stops.
• Your Emergency Dentist Contact Details: Keep your emergency dentist's contact information in a central location. It should be immediately accessible to anybody caring for your child.

The Big Dental Emergencies -- What to Do until You Can Get to an Emergency Dentist

• Dealing with a Knocked-out Tooth: Active and sporty kids can sometimes have accidents. If the worst happens and a tooth is knocked out, find the tooth and hold it by the crown. Run it under clean water to remove any dirt, then try to put it back in place, but do not force it. Make sure the tooth is in the right way Give your child some gauze to bite down on gently and get them to a dentist as soon as possible. If you're unable to insert the tooth back into the socket, place it in a cup with milk or water and a pinch of salt and get to the dentist immediately.
• Treating a Broken or Chipped Tooth: If your child chips or breaks a tooth, try to retrieve the broken pieces. Wash them clean and keep them safe. If your child is bleeding or there's any swelling, you can place an ice pack on the outside of the cheek above the injured area. Give your child a painkiller and get to the emergency dentist as soon as you can.
• Managing an Extruded Tooth: An extruded tooth is one that is partially displaced out of its socket. There isn't a great deal you can do to fix the problem at home, so you'll need to get your child to your dentist as soon as you can. Until you do, you can use painkillers and an ice pack over the area to help with swelling and pain.

For more ideas, talk to a dentist like Dental Smile Clinic.

22 July 2016