Pediatric dental emergencies can happen everyday. And we are here to help.
Dental emergencies are not uncommon, particularly when your child is a toddler or a pre-teen.
Dental emergencies are not uncommon and are stressful for children and parents. Injuries to the mouth and teeth often occur when your child is a toddler, and is beginning to walk and explore their environment. Dental emergencies also occur during the early teen years, when your kids are starting to get involved in sports.
Broken or Chipped Tooth
The crown is the largest, most visible part of the tooth. There are several classifications of crown fracture, ranging from minor enamel cracks (not an emergency) to pulp exposure (requiring immediate treatment).
Contact your Dr Sara immediately if you notice any of the following:
- Loose or displaced tooth
- The tooth has broken more than 2mm
- Bleeding from the tooth
Most importantly, if your child is in pain, then please contact us as soon as possible.
Displaced Tooth
A displaced tooth is when the tooth is still in its socket, but has moved out of position.
In this situation, have your child rinse his or her mouth with cold water and place ice packs around any areas that are swelling. Take children’s Tylenol or Motrin to reduce any pain. Lastly, contact Dr .Sara.
Dental Avulsion
Otherwise known as a knocked-out tooth, this can happen when there is some kind of impact to the face or mouth area. If this occurs, please contact us immediately.
If it is a baby tooth that was knocked out, do not re-insert the tooth. In general, pediatric dentists do not attempt to reimplant avulsed primary (baby) teeth, because the reimplantation procedure itself can cause damage to the tooth bud, and thereby damage the emerging permanent tooth.
For a permanent tooth, follow these steps:
- Pick up the affected tooth gently by the crown (not the root). Do not touch the tooth roots! Handle the crown only.
- Rinse off dirt and debris without scrubbing or scraping the tooth.
- For older children, insert the tooth into its original socket using gentle pressure. For younger children, submerge the tooth in a glass of milk or saliva (do not attempt to reinsert the tooth in case the child swallows it)
- Do not allow the tooth to dry during transportation. Moisture is critically important for reimplantation success.Milk is the most recommended storage medium for avulsed teeth when considering PDL cell viability and ease of availability.
- Contact your Dr Sara immediately or take the child to the Emergency Room immediately –time is critical in saving the tooth.
The prognosis for avulsed permanent teeth is heavily dependent on the actions taken at the place of accident.
Restorative Services
Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF )
Some kids who have active tooth decay may benefit from an alternative treatment using Silver Diamine Fluoride.Compared to a traditional filling that requires local anesthetic and drilling of tooth structure, SDF is non-invasive and more comfortable for the kids . It is a liquid that is simply brushed onto the cavity that can stop progression of the current decay. SDF is a great tool to buy some time till the child is ready for final restoration .
RESIN INFILTRATION OF WHITE-SPOT LESIONS (ICON)
Resin infiltration is a minimally invasive restorative treatment for post-ortho white-spot lesions (WSLs) and certain congenital hypocalcified enamel lesions .
White fillings
white fillings are indicated when the cavities are small and involve only one or two surfaces of the baby tooth . We use high quality dental material to restore your child’s teeth to its original function and esthetics.
Stainless steel crowns
Stainless steel crowns are used when the baby tooth has large cavities or cavities on multiple surfaces of one tooth . Stainless steel crowns are prefabricated , very durable and made of surgical grade stainless steel. When it is the time to lose the baby tooth ,the crown will exfoliate naturally with the baby tooth inside of it .
Pulpotomies-Baby root canals
When the cavity is approaching the tooth nerve, baby root canal or pulpotomies indicated .The procedure consists of opening up your child’s tooth, removing the coronal part of the tooth nerve and placing the sedative medicament .Baby root canal treated teeth often restored with stainless steel crowns to avoid future complications .
Space Maintainers
Each baby tooth holds a space for a permanent tooth which is forming beneath it , premature loss of the baby tooth will cause space loss and eventually block the eruption of the permanent tooth . Space maintainer is the best tool to hold the space and prevent space loss till the permanent tooth is ready to erupt . There are different kinds of spacers , Dr Sara will be happy to help you and answer all of your questions in this matter .
Extractions
Extractions are necessary when the baby tooth is too damaged or shows signs of infection . Extractions can be done in the office with /without laughing gas or under general anesthesia depending on your child’s anxiety level.
Additional Pediatric Dentistry Service
Mission Viejo Pediatric & Children Dentistry
Mission Viejo Kids Sedation Dentistry
Mission Viejo Pediatric Tooth Cleaning Service
Mission Viejo Kids Dental Filling
Mission Viejo Preventative Dental Treatment
Mission Viejo Kids Dental Sealants Treatment