Pediatric Dental Emergencies

Many dental injuries that occur with children are considered emergencies because of the sensitive nature of their emerging teeth.  When trauma occurs to the primary teeth, not only is the viability of the primary teeth at risk but the health of the permanent teeth that are beneath them are at risk as well.  When a pediatric dental emergency arises, you need to stay calm, assess the situation and call the Bondi dentist as soon as possible for the injury to be examined.  Many times, the life of the tooth is determined in as little at 30 minutes to an hour. 

The Frequency of Pediatric Dental Emergencies

Nearly every child has had a dental emergency between the ages of 7 and 9.  The reason for the high number of emergency dental care cases has to do with the active nature of children.  From learning to walk to playing sports, children can end up harming their teeth. 

Types of Common Pediatric Dental Trauma

The most common pediatric dental trauma is from toddlers that are beginning to walk and fall into furniture.  Hitting delicate primary teeth will cause breaks, chips, tooth loss, and in some cases dental intrusions when the tooth is retracted beneath the gum line. 

When dealing with primary teeth, or as commonly called, baby teeth, the Bondi dentist will not only take into account the health of the primary teeth but also the trauma that could be caused to the permanent teeth that have yet to erupt.  For this reason it is impertinent that you get your child to the dentist as soon as possible to fix the problem before it becomes worse.

When dealing with permanent teeth and older children, many times the injuries are caused by sporting events.  These types of injuries are more prominent in boys than girls because of the nature of the gender.

Some of the most common injuries to permanent teeth are similar to the ones seen in primary teeth, but the treatment differs because these are the teeth children will have for the rest of their lives. 

In all cases of pediatric primary dental emergencies, the main goal is to save the tooth at all costs.  If the tooth has been knocked out, the dentist will attempt to re-implant the tooth.  For chips and cracks, bonding agents will be used in an attempt to save the tooth.

 In all dental emergency cases, time is of the essence and the faster that you can get your child to the emergency dentist, the better the chance of saving the tooth. 

Immediate Care for Dental Trauma

The main thing to do in times of dental trauma is to keep your child calm and call the Bondi emergency dentist immediately.  If there is bleeding, have your child rinse their mouth with warm water to clean the area and inspect the injured tooth to determine what type of injury you are dealing with.  Give your child an over the counter pain reliever to ease some of the pain and place a cold compress on the injury to reduce swelling.  If the tooth has been knocked out, gently clean it and keep it moist until you can get to the dentist.  These small steps could mean your child losing or regaining his tooth when he is seen by the pediatric emergency dentist.

In all cases, contact our Bondi dental office immediately so we can minimize the damage.