Emergencies

Toothaches are painful and can interfere with your kiddo’s ability to pay attention in school or eat. If the toothache has lasted for more than a few hours, we recommend you call to schedule an appointment to be seen.

At home care until your appointment:

• Clean the teeth and the surrounding areas in the child’s mouth. Check for any food that has become trapped between their teeth.
• Rinse with salt water.
• Give your kiddo pain relievers – ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Please do not give Aspirin as it will not help and can be dangerous for young children.
• Look for swelling. If you see any, you can apply ice or frozen veggies to the area – 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off.

Whenever your child has an injury to the tongue, lip or cheek it could impact the gums and or teeth. If your child experiences a serious injury of the mouth, we always recommend calling us to determine if evaluation is necessary.

Tongue Injury

• Ouch! It definitely will hurt for a little bit after your kiddo bites their tongue.
• If your kiddo’s cut is minor and stays together when they move their tongue, it should heal on its own.
• If your child’s cut is deep or does not come together, you should contact us immediately.
• At Home Care:
  • If there is bleeding: use a clean cloth or gauze to apply firm pressure to stop the bleeding.
  • Use a cold compress: Something like frozen fruits or veggies. Rotate the cold item 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. To help prevent & reduce swelling.
  • Time the bleeding: If the wound has been bleeding for 15 minutes and is not stopping, please go directly to the emergency room.

Upper Lip Injury

These typically happen when your child falls and lands on their mouth.

• The wound on the lip will heal on its own. It might require stitches if it’s a particularly large gash. These injuries tend to be relatively bloody.
• It’s important to assess the gums and teeth under the lip to determine if there was any additional injury. Look for wobbly teeth, pain when eating, etc.
• At Home Care:
  • If there is bleeding: use a clean cloth or gauze to apply firm pressure to stop the bleeding.
  • Use a cold compress: Something like frozen fruits or veggies. Rotate the cold item 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. This will help to prevent & reduce swelling.
  • Time the bleeding: If the wound has been bleeding for 15 minutes and is not stopping, please go directly to the emergency room.

Lower Lip Injury

These usually occur when your kiddo’s bottom teeth cut the lower lip during a fall.

• While they’re painful and can look scary, these typically heal on their own as long as the tooth did not go through the lip entirely.
• At Home Care:
  • If there is bleeding: use a clean cloth or gauze to apply firm pressure to stop the bleeding.
  • Use a cold compress: Something like frozen fruits or veggies. Rotate the cold item 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. This will help to prevent & reduce swelling.
  • Time the bleeding: If the wound has been bleeding for 15 minutes and is not stopping, please go directly to the emergency room.

Puncture wounds

These injuries usually occur when you fall holding something in your mouth – like a pen or a pencil.

• Multiple areas can be injured during the fall – throat, tonsils, or the soft palate.
• At Home Care:
  • If there is bleeding: use a clean cloth or gauze to apply firm pressure to stop the bleeding.
  • Use a cold compress: Something like frozen fruits or veggies. Rotate the cold item 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. This will help to prevent & reduce swelling.
  • Time the bleeding: If the wound has been bleeding for 15 minutes and is not stopping, please go directly to the emergency room.

Broken or chipped teeth often occur from eating hard candy, a bad fall, or playing sports. If you experience this injury, please call us immediately.

At home care until your kiddo’s appointment:

• Rinse your mouth with warm water to reduce any debris in the area of your injury.
• Do not spit anything out into the sink, use a cup to catch any other tooth particles.
• Use cold compresses to help relieve the swelling.
• Put all the broken fragments of tooth in milk. If you do not have access to milk, salt water may work – 1 cup of water with 1 tsp salt.

Do I need to take my kiddo in?

• If you leave a broken or chipped tooth untreated there will be a high risk of infection due to the buildup of bacteria.
• Left untreated, broken or chipped teeth often result in root canals or other more invasive treatments to solve pain and infection.

If you have any hesitation, please immediately seek help for your child’s suspected abscess or infection. If you are uncertain, here is a checklist to help you determine next steps:

• Check for any difficulty breathing. An abscess may make it hard for your kiddo to breath. If this happens – call 911 immediately.
• Call us. Make sure we are aware of what has happened with your child.
• Schedule an appointment.
• Elevate your head using pillows or sleep sitting up in a chair, if your child cannot be seen until the morning.
• Give your kiddo pain medication like Tylenol.
• Use a saltwater rinse 2x a day until your child can be seen by the dentist.