Bitten Lip or Tongue
Clean the area gently with a cloth and apply cold compresses or ice to reduce swelling. If the bleeding doesn't stop, go to a hospital emergency room immediately.

Problems with Braces and Retainers
If a wire is causing irritation, cover the end with a small cotton ball, beeswax or a piece of gauze until you can get to the dentist. If a wire gets stuck in the cheek, tongue or gum tissue, do not attempt to remove it. Contact our office. If an appliance becomes loose or a piece of it breaks off, collect the broken appliance or piece and contact our office immediately.

Broken, Fractured, Displaced Tooth
If your child loses a tooth from an injury, try to remain calm. Call our office immediately and we will help you to determine if it is a permanent or primary tooth. If it is a permanent tooth, avoid touching the root in any way. If it is a permanent tooth, gently rinse the tooth under running water, but avoid rubbing the root area. Hold it by the crown rather than the root and try to reinsert it in the socket. (Your child can keep it in place until treatment by biting down on a wet piece of clean gauze.) If that is not possible, put the tooth in a glass of milk, saline solution, or saliva, and take your child and the glass immediately to our office, or an emergency medical treatment facility.

For a broken tooth, rinse your child's mouth out with warm water to clean out any debris or foreign matter. Use a cold compress on the child's cheek or gum near the affected area to keep any swelling down. Call our office immediately.

Minor fractures may be smoothed with a sandpaper disc or simply left alone. Another option is to restore the tooth with a composite restoration. In either case, treat the tooth with care for several days. Keep your child on a soft diet that avoids use of the broken tooth.
Moderate fractures include damage to the enamel, dentin (the bony hard portion of the tooth), and/or pulp (the nerve and blood vessels within the tooth). If the pulp is involved, the tooth may need a nerve treatment, including the possibility of a root canal in order to save it. The tooth may be restored with a composite filling or a permanent crown. If damage to the pulp does occur, further dental treatment will be required.

Severe fractures often mean a traumatized tooth with slim chance of recovery.

Sports Injuries

What do the following have in common?

* A bat
* A ball
* A knee or elbow
* A hard surface, such as the ground or the bottom of a swimming pool

They all are things that could easily come into contact with your child's mouth when participating in sports. And they all have the potential for damaging or knocking out teeth, or fracturing or dislocating a jaw. High-risk activities include "contact" sports, such as football, boxing, martial arts (including karate and kick-boxing) and hockey, as well as non-contact sports such as basketball, baseball, bicycle riding, roller-blading, soccer, wrestling, racquetball, surfing, and skateboarding.

Even swimming, with all of its gentility, poses serious hazards for your child's teeth. Common swimming pool accidents occur when children, swimming underwater, quickly ascend to the surface, hitting the hard ledge, and loosening the front tooth. Running on slippery, slick cement and ceramic pool surfaces also can send your child headfirst into the ground, increasing the likelihood of a chipped or loose tooth.

According to the Academy of General Dentistry, many sports-related emergencies involving teeth can be avoided by following the rules and remembering dental first aid steps. If your child participates in any sports, a mouth guard is a smart investment. Mouth guards are soft plastic devices that fit over the front of your child's mouth, protecting his teeth, lips, cheeks, and gums from sports-related injuries. A well-fitting mouth guard can protect your child from injuries to the teeth, face, and even some severe injuries to the head.

Toothaches
It is important to get an evaluation from one of our dentists as soon as possible if your child has intraoral pain. Please call our office ahead of time so we may reserve the most efficient appointment time for you. If ignored, dental pain may lead to larger problems in some cases.

If your child has a toothache, rinse the irritated area with warm salt water. Gently use dental floss or an interdental cleaner to ensure that there is no food or other debris caught between your child's teeth. Place a cold compress on the face if it is swollen.

Acetaminophen is effective for any pain. Never place aspirin directly on the teeth or gums. Some people try placing an aspirin or other kind of pain killer on a painful tooth, but this is not a sound practice. These kinds of substances can actually burn your gum tissue.

Trapped Debris/Objects Between Teeth
Try gently removing the debris with dental floss. Be careful not to cut your child's gums. Never use a sharp instrument, such as a needle or pin, to remove any object that is stuck between teeth. If you can't dislodge the object using dental floss, contact our office.