Emergency Dentistry

Overview

Dental emergencies occur when you least expect them. However, when a dental emergency occurs, the most important aspect of handling the emergency is to bring your child to our office as soon as possible.

Toothache

Your child should rinse their mouth with warm water to flush out any debris that accumulated between the teeth. If your child requires medication to relieve the pain, use either Children’s Tylenol or Children’s Advil as directed. Do not apply any medications to the affected tooth or gum. Instead, contact our office to arrange for an appointment so we can correctly diagnose the cause.

If a Permanent Tooth is Accidentally Knocked Out

Time is very important! If the displaced tooth accumulated debris, rinse it gently under cool water. Try to be gentle. Do not make any effort to scrub the tooth or use any cleanser.

Gently replace the tooth in its socket and hold it in place. The tooth’s viability depends on the amount of time that elapsed from the time of the injury to the time of its reimplantation. After the tooth has been reimplanted, please contact our office. We can fabricate a splint to hold the tooth in place.

If you cannot reseat the tooth in its socket, place the tooth in a container of cool water, milk, or saline. Come, immediately, within 30 minutes, if possible, to our office. Then, we can possibly re-implant the tooth.

Call our office number at 207-530-9939 any time, day or night. During business hours, our team can see your child immediately. After business hours, our live patient care coordinator asks for pertinent injury information. Then, they dispatch your call to the dentist on call.

A Baby Tooth is Knocked Out

If a baby tooth is accidentally knocked out, do not try to reinsert a baby tooth. This may damage the developing permanent tooth. Instead, administer any necessary first aid to the other areas of the body.

Rinse your child’s mouth with water. Then, call our office as soon as possible. At the office, we conduct a thorough examination to make sure no further damage occurred.

Bitten Tongue or Lip

Tongues and lips tend to bleed profusely when bitten. To stop blood flow, apply direct pressure to the bleeding area with gauze or a clean cloth. If you cannot control the blood flow, immediately bring your child to our office or the hospital emergency room.

Broken or Chipped Tooth

Rinse out the mouth with warm water. Apply a cool compress to the injured soft tissue to reduce swelling. Contact the office.

Then, bring your child to the office. Immediate action can prevent infection and reduce the need for extensive dental treatment. Use cold compresses to minimize swelling.

Possible Broken Jaw or Head Injury of Any Type

Immediately take your child to the Emergency Room of your nearest hospital.

Swelling in My Child’s Mouth

If any part of your child’s face, lips, mouth, or jaw swells due to a suspected, dental problem, seek help as soon as possible. It could be a dangerous infection. If swelling is severe enough to affect the eye area, your child has trouble swallowing, or begins to run a fever, go directly to the emergency room. You can contact our office later.

Symptoms of Traumatized Teeth

Several causes can traumatize teeth, including accidental falls, motor accidents, blows during fights, sports, and other activities.

Some symptoms of traumatized teeth include:

• Teeth turning darker in color.
• The gum tissue around the tooth appears to be inflamed or swollen.
• The tooth may be hypersensitive to hot or cold foods or drinks.
• The tooth does not appear in the original position.
• Teeth hurt worse when in a reclining position.
• A gum boil (pimple) appears on the gums near the injured tooth. It may not be painful.

*Note: Not all of these symptoms may appear. Any of these symptoms indicate the need to call the office so we can examine your child. To determine the best plan to treat the tooth, we often require a dental exam and X-rays.

Braces, Appliances, or Retainers Cause Pain

If your child is in pain, please call us. We can make arrangements to make them comfortable. If an orthodontic appliance or retainer breaks or becomes loose, please contact us as soon as possible. Please do not attempt to remove an appliance lodged in any area of the mouth or lips.

Disclaimer

Wee Care Children’s Dentistry gives no warranty, implied or expressed, to results from the use of any or all provided emergency care information. Furthermore, we cannot treat patients or make a diagnosis over the Internet or through visits to this website. Therefore, the following pages are for informational purposes only.

In addition, it is not recommended to depend on the information provided to substitute for medical or dental assessment, diagnosis, or treatment. Your pediatric dentist, healthcare provider, or yourself can make the best treatment decision possible in an emergency.