For children, dental emergencies can be terrifying and, not to mention, anxiety-inducing for the parent! Luckily, there are things you can do to prevent these unfortunate situations.
Taking steps to prevent dental emergencies can spare your family a lot of stress and avoid an emergency trip to Oakville Place Dental. In this article, we will offer advice on how to best protect your child’s smile. Additionally, we will overview some special considerations for child-specific dental emergencies.
It’s impossible to entirely prevent dental emergencies from happening. Children are rambunctious, accident-prone, and more than capable of leaving your best-laid dental plans to waste. However, there are certain steps you can take to minimize the likelihood of a dental emergency.
That being said, some oral health issues (like extreme tooth decay and infection) can be avoided with good oral hygiene and a healthy diet.
You should bring your child in for their initial dental appointment shortly after the arrival of their first tooth or their first birthday. After that visit, checkups should be scheduled every six months—the same as the rest of your family!
These appointments are essential, especially for children. We need to monitor the development of their teeth, gums, and jawbone. Otherwise, we won’t be able to detect and correct issues early.
The sooner your child receives treatment for orthodontic and bite issues, like crooked teeth, overcrowding, and overbites, the easier and faster that treatment will be. Additionally, we can catch tooth decay early, before it has a chance to turn into a bad infection.
Like you, your child receives a thorough tooth cleaning during their appointment. This helps prevent tooth decay and cavities from forming.
Of course, your child’s oral hygiene routine in between their regular checkups is also extremely important. Consistent brushing and flossing is key for preventing cavities and certain dental emergencies.
For example, toothaches are a common dental issue among children and are often preventable with good oral hygiene. Without regular brushing and flossing, plaque, tartar, and acid attack the protective enamel surrounding each tooth. Tooth decay and infection can follow, causing an achy tooth.
A healthy diet also helps prevent hygiene-related dental emergencies, like toothaches, severe cavities, bleeding gums, and abscesses.
Allowing your child to feast on sugary snacks and beverages can unleash a slew of oral health issues. All that sugar triggers bacterial overgrowth, plaque buildup, and an acidic environment that eats away at tooth enamel. Eventually, cavities will form. If not treated, those cavities will worsen, potentially leading to a severe infection.
Protective gear can save your child’s smile from dental trauma. If your child plays any contact sports, it’s very important that they wear a custom-fitted mouthguard. All it takes is a ball or elbow to the face to cause a dental emergency. A broken, chipped, fractured, or knocked-out tooth definitely requires an emergency trip to Oakville Place Dental.
Custom mouthguards cushion your child’s teeth, protecting them in case of impact. They are incredibly effective and worth the investment. Dental trauma is often bloody, messy, and scary for your child (and anxiety-inducing for you!).
Childproofing your home reduces the risk of a dental emergency while your children are young. A secure home environment means your child is less likely to fall down or walk into something that could knock out one of their new baby teeth.
Install safety gates at the top and bottom of staircases to prevent accidental falls. Additionally, place corner protectors over sharp-edged furniture, and secure any heavy items that could topple over.
Dental emergencies can be especially frightening for kids, particularly young children. As we mentioned, dental trauma often involves mild to severe bleeding and pain. This can cause your child to feel intense anxiety and fear, which needs to be addressed along with the actual injury.
It’s very important that you remain calm and keep a level head. If you react fearfully, your child’s anxiety will skyrocket. You need to be a source of stability and support. Provide comfort and assure them that everything will be okay.
Baby teeth are meant to fall out. So, does a knocked-out or damaged baby tooth count as a dental emergency? The answer is both yes and no. A prematurely dislodged baby tooth is not usually a serious problem.
Baby teeth are not held in place as securely as permanent teeth, so they rarely cause damage when knocked out. If severe and persistent bleeding occurs, however, contact Oakville Place Dental immediately.
Knocked-out baby teeth are not typically re-planted. Nonetheless, preserve the baby tooth in a cup of milk and bring it with you when you visit our clinic. We’ll check it to make sure nothing has gone awry.
Prematurely lost baby teeth can cause bite and alignment problems, so we’ll have to monitor their development very closely. Your child may be fitted with a space maintainer to keep the other baby teeth from shifting into the wrong place, preserving a spot for the eventual eruption of the permanent tooth.
When an adult tooth is knocked out, on the other hand, it’s much more serious. If possible, we will try to reattach the permanent tooth. Keep the dislodged tooth in a cup of milk or salt water, and bring it to us immediately!
Dental emergencies are scary enough. You don’t need a scary dental clinic to make matters worse. A child-friendly clinic with emergency services will help set your child’s (and your own) anxieties at ease.
When looking for a family dentist or pediatric dentist in Oakville, consider the clinic’s atmosphere and services.
Has the office been designed with kids in mind? Does it have bright colours, toys, and comfortable furniture to help calm your child in an emergency? Are the staff compassionate, warm, and welcoming? Finally, does the clinic specialize in pediatric and emergency dentistry?
During a dental emergency, you need an experienced clinic and compassionate team on your side. The clinic must also be child-friendly and understand the unique considerations of child-specific dental emergencies. You want a clinic that can take charge in a difficult situation, expertly caring for your child’s injured mouth and calming their anxieties.
Here are a few things to look for in a child-friendly emergency dental clinic:
Oakville Place Dental specializes in emergency dental care for children and adults. Whether your child is experiencing a toothache or has knocked out a tooth entirely, we’re here to help. Our compassionate team is ready to welcome you in your time of need.
We offer high-quality services, provided by experienced and knowledgeable dentists. Furthermore, our emergency dental office is equipped with cutting-edge technology that streamlines our emergency processes.
Additionally, we work with your insurance company, billing them directly whenever possible.
For an emergency dental office in Oakville, call Oakville Place Dental at (905) 842-6030 or contact us here.
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