I keep reading these stories about children needing emergency dental care because of infections. Is this normal? I’m about to have my first baby and I’m worried I won’t recognize the problem. These are kids with significant decay and the parents seemed to be clueless. I don’t want that to happen to me. What are the signs?
Lindsey
Dear Lindsey,
There are two types of dental emergencies with children. The first is unpredictable and rarely anyone’s fault. It’s when a child suffers tooth trauma. That can happen when they get hit with a ball or something hard while playing. It can happen when they fall. Honestly, there is any number of reasons it can happen.
If that happens, believe me, you’ll know. The thing to do in a case like that is to remain calm. If there’s bleeding remember the mouth bleeds often look much worse than they really are. Stop the bleeding, then call his or her dentist. They’ll do x-rays to make sure there isn’t any significant damage to the roots of the teeth and take action from there.
The second type of pediatric emergencies is completely preventable. This is the tragic part of the whole thing. These are when parents wait too long to take them to see a dentist. Decay develops. At first, it’s not noticeable or painful. But, these things can blow up quickly. Now your child is crying and in pain and needs a painful emergency dental appointment.
Preventable Dental Emergencies
The easiest way to prevent these is to make sure you take them to the pediatric dentist early. This way the dentist can keep a keen eye on your child’s tooth health and development. This has many other benefits.
First, it gives your child a positive experience at the dentist, instead of a negative one. It also will help prevent bacteria from getting to settle on the teeth and lead to decay. Finally, it also helps the dentist catch any abnormalities quickly which enables them to find solutions that may be less invasive.
I hope this helps put your mind at ease.
This blog is brought to you by Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.