To facilitate your decision making process regarding a dental emergency, we have listed a few of the more common dental emergencies and proper treatment for each. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the office at (615)-614-2424 at any time. If we are not in the office, a message will be left on our voicemail, and someone will contact you as soon as possible to address your concerns.
It is very important that a child seeks IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE if a child ever loses consciousness during a traumatic head or neck injury. If your child has lost consciousness, suffered a severe blow to the head, or has a possible broken or fractured jaw, please go to an emergency room before contacting the dentist. If a tooth has been lost or broken during the injury, your child’s overall health is more important. A tooth can be replaced—your child’s life cannot.
Tooth or Jaw Pain: Tooth pain is usually caused by a cavity, traumatic injury, or dental infection. It is very important to clean the area around the tooth as best as possible. Floss and a toothbrush can be helpful in making sure that no food or debris is lodged in the area. If this does not alleviate the pain, contact us for further assistance. Pain of less than 5 seconds duration that is infrequent can usually be treated with Ibuprofen or Tylenol. If pain lasts longer than 5-10 seconds, wakes the patient up at night, or produces swelling of the gums or face, a dental infection is most likely the source of the pain. If facial swelling occurs, cold compresses should be used to minimize the swelling until we are able to treat the source of the pain.
Knocked Out (Avulsed) Permanent Tooth: If a permanent tooth is ever knocked completely out of the socket (avulsed) or partially dislodged from the socket (luxation), it is very important that you contact our office immediately for further assistance. Time is of the essence during an injury such as this! If the tooth has been completely knocked out, attempt to locate the tooth. If you are able to find it, make sure that you only rinse the tooth with water and that you do not scrub the root of the tooth, as this can hurt the potential of the tooth to survive. Reimplantation of the tooth is critical in the overall lifespan of the tooth. If the tooth is in good condition, attempt to re-insert the tooth into the socket. Once put back into the proper position, have the child bite on wet gauze to hold the tooth in position and keep it moist. If you are unable to reinsert the tooth, place the tooth in a glass of milk and contact us immediately for further care.
Knocked Out (Avulsed) Baby Teeth: If a baby tooth is lost or knocked out, contact your pediatric dentist immediately. We want to advise you that baby teeth are not recommended for reimplantation back into the socket, however, because they can cause damage to the developing permanent tooth underneath them. Usually no treatment is required.
Fractured Permanent Tooth: Contact us as soon as possible. It is very important to attempt to locate any pieces of the tooth that have fractured. Sometimes we are able to use these when restoring your tooth to its original shape. If you find the pieces of the tooth, place them in milk and bring them with you to the dentist. Time is of the essence in these injuries in order to prevent the development of dental infection or persistent chronic pain, as well as reduction of the need for more complicated and extensive dental treatment.
Fractured Baby Teeth: Give us a call at the office so we can talk a little more about this. Fractures of baby teeth are treated differently from permanent teeth in some cases.
