Approximately 30% of children have experienced dental injuries!
Common injuries to the teeth include:
-
tooth knocked out (avulsed) see previous
-
tooth fractured
-
tooth forced out of position (extruded)
-
tooth pushed up (luxated)
-
tooth loosened
What to do?
. Tooth Displacement
primary teeth – Place a wet, cold cloth over the mouth for comfort and to bring down any swelling and seek help from the dentist. Provide pain relief with regular child analgesics (Calpol etc)
permanent teeth – Rinse with cold water and place an ice pack over the lips and mouth to reduce the swelling. Give pain relief and try, if possible to reposition the displaced teeth back to the normal position using gentle to moderate finger pressure. Get the child to hold the tooth in place themselves as you seek help from dentist
. Tooth Fracture
primary teeth – Have the child rinse with warm water. Use a cold cloth or ice pack to reduce any swelling to lips etc. Give pain relief, cover with a dressing and seek help from your dentist
permanent teeth – Same again. Rinse with warm water, apply cold compress, give pain relief, cover with dressing and seek help
