Smart First Aid for Broken Teeth

Smart First Aid for Broken Teeth

Injuries to children’s teeth are common, but damage can be minimized if you know what to do. Making sure you get fast dental treatment is the key to handling dental injuries in children.

Dental trauma often happens between the ages of 18 and 36 months, when toddlers are curious but still uncoordinated. In older children with permanent teeth, sports accidents are a major cause of broken teeth.

If your child chips or shatters a tooth, try to find and gather the fragments. Other first aid measures include cleaning or rinsing dirt from around the break and putting a cold compress near the broken tooth to relieve facial swelling.

You should bring your child to see Dr. Jared immediately, because the tooth fragments can often be re-bonded. In more severe fractures that involve half the tooth or more, the nerve of the tooth might be exposed, making it critical that your child gets urgent dental treatment.

Factors affecting the type of treatment and outcome are

• the type and location of the tooth, such as whether it’s a primary or permanent tooth
• your child’s age (a two-year-old will be treated differently from a five-year-old)
• the need for sedation
• the amount of root left on the tooth

Whenever possible, we will repair fractured baby teeth. However, in some cases it’s better to remove a heavily damaged baby tooth rather than perform a pediatric root canal. Our focus needs to be on protecting the developing permanent tooth.

The following tips can help prevent broken teeth:

• Childproof your home with gates across stairs and padding on sharp edges.
• Make sure your toddler doesn’t run around with toys in his or her mouth.
• Encourage teenagers to wear mouthguards when playing sports.
• For the best protection, consider a custom mouthguard.

Many parents worry about their child’s appearance after a broken tooth. Rest assured that with prompt first aid after the injury and a trip to KiDDS Dental, most problems are fixable. Your child will maintain a healthy smile and self-confidence.

Call us to schedule an appointment today!  509-891-7070.