Emergency Dentistry for Children: Tips for Managing Pediatric Dental Emergencies

Emergency Dentistry for Children: Tips for Managing Pediatric Dental Emergencies

June 1, 2023

Children are adventurous and curious explorers making every effort to learn about their world and occasionally bump into things leading to accidents resulting in damage to their teeth, tongue, lips, and gums. While some incidents may not need a visit to an emergency dentist, others causing severe injuries can alarm parents and children.

 

Knowing how to manage pediatric dental situations helps to provide first-aid to children when they report incidents. Information about first-aid to deal with children’s dental problems is undoubtedly beneficial. However, knowing a dental facility offering services for pediatric dental emergencies offers more benefits because it enables parents to seek help from a dentist to alleviate the pain, inhibit bleeding, and prevent permanent tooth loss from needing additional treatments. 

 

What Is Emergency Dental Care?

 

Emergency dental care is when professionals working as emergency dentists offer services to patients like adults and children beyond office hours to deal with unexpected situations that might damage their oral cavity and cause severe pain and anxiety. Emergency dental care is unlike your regular dentist’s office when you schedule an appointment, visit the dental clinic, and wait in a queue awaiting your turn to receive the required treatment. In contrast, emergency dentists arrange to meet patients immediately upon arrival treating every dental situation on priority.

 

Emergency dental care is a service provided by dentists to ensure patients do not suffer permanent damage to their oral cavity because of accidents or incidents of just plain neglect to require further intensive treatments.

 

For example, children with a dislodged permanent tooth need emergency dental care as soon as possible if they can find the tooth, not in their mouth, and retrieve it by holding the dental crown to ensure they don’t damage the tooth roots. Teenagers in such situations must keep the tooth moist and report the issue to their parents, who can try to reinsert the tooth into its socket if possible. If parents cannot place the tooth in its socket, they can store it in a tiny glass of milk and meet the emergency dentist in Redding immediately by visiting their office to reach them within 30 minutes. The Redding dentist will assist the child by splinting the tooth to the adjacent teeth to allow its roots to reattach over the next couple of months. However, if the child doesn’t receive treatment within the time, they may require replacement solutions to safeguard their oral health.

 

Which Oral Problems Are Urgent Dental Emergencies?

 

Although every dental situation appears like an emergency, some dental problems among children do not always require a trip to an emergency dentist near you. Some dental conditions can wait for at least 24 hours when you can contact the child’s pediatric dentist for an urgent care appointment to receive treatment.

 

For example, children between six and 14 are cavity prone and receive fillings. They also receive orthodontic treatments to correct misaligned, crowded, and crooked teeth. Fillings in cavities can dislodge by mishandling them or chewing on objects that might damage them. Orthodontic braces on their teeth can also break and cause discomfort in the mouth. While these emergencies also need treatments as soon as possible from a dentist working during office hours, emergency dental visits are unnecessary because lost fillings over cavities are comfortably managed by placing a piece of sugar-free chewing over the affected tooth until children can receive urgent dental care from their regular dentist during the daytime. Broken orthodontic wires causing poking sensation are comfortably managed at home by using orthodontic wax to cover the broken portion until parents can take their child to the orthodontist to fix the braces. However, parents must remember a visit to the dentist or orthodontist is essential to ensure the protection of their child’s tooth remains ongoing by getting them new fillings or braces as required.

 

Benefits of Emergency Dentistry for Children

 

Emergency dentistry benefits everyone, including children, by helping them retain their natural teeth and, in most cases, helping save teeth from extraction because of cavities. More importantly, emergency dentistry for children helps educate them about the importance of excellent oral hygiene and techniques to safeguard their teeth and soft tissues by educating them about safeguards they can use and preventive measures to adopt in everyday life to avoid the need for emergency dental visits at odd hours of the day or night.

 

If you have kids who are constantly dealing with dental issues visiting Shasta Kids Dentistry with them for consultation helps ensure your children receive appropriate education on preventing dental injuries to their mouths that may cause permanent damage. The visit will also free you from frequent concerns about searching for an emergency dentist when least expected to receive treatment for your child.

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