Pediatric Dental Emergencies

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What Parents Need to Know About Pediatric Dental Emergencies
Even when your child has preventive and routine care at our Upper East Side Pediatric Dentistry practice, dental emergencies can happen. In many cases, the difference between saving and losing a tooth depends on taking the proper action in the immediate aftermath of an injury.

Come see our new cutting edge kids’ dentistry center in Manhattan and meet a university and hospital trained, emergency pediatric dentist Dr. Babich for highly effective and time-tested dental treatments.

You should contact Dr. Sara for emergency care ASAP in the case of:

• A knocked-out (avulsed) tooth
• A chipped or broken tooth
• A cut or bitten tongue, lip, cheek that requires suturing
• A toothache with facial swelling

The primary goals when treating a traumatic dental or oral injury are to:

• Save teeth at risk of being lost
• Prevent or treat infection
• Restore function in the best possible way

What To Do If a Baby Tooth is Knocked Out

In general, a knocked out baby tooth is not as serious as a knocked out permanent tooth. But your child should still come to the office for an exam.

• First, comfort your child and stem the bleeding by applying light pressure with a sterile gauze pad.
• Try to find the knocked out tooth to be sure the child has not swallowed it. It’s important to try to find the tooth because it could possibly be knocked into the gums, or part of the tooth may still remain in the bone.
• Don’t try to put a baby tooth back into the socket because you could inadvertently damage the permanent tooth.
• Make an appointment at our pediatric dental office.
• We’ll examine your child’s mouth thoroughly and possibly take x-rays to check the surrounding teeth and unerupted permanent teeth for damage. It’s sometimes necessary to insert a space maintainer to keep surrounding teeth from shifting and assure that permanent teeth erupt properly.
• Even preschool age children are aware of their appearance. If the knocked out tooth is a front tooth, a gap may last for several years until the adult teeth erupt. If necessary, we can make a temporary bridge called a “pedo-partial” that only stays in place until permanent teeth come in. Every consideration is given to the individual child’s situation and treatment plan.