If any of your child’s teeth gets knocked out, broken, chipped, cracked or loosened, contact our office at 480-830-5466, to see whether your child should come in right away. For more details about dental emergencies, go to the following sections.
Prompt action can save the tooth, prevent infection and reduce the need for extensive dental treatment. If the tooth is broken or chipped, we may request that you bring the tooth or fragment with you. Handle the tooth by the crown, not the root portion. You may rinse the tooth but DO NOT clean or handle the tooth unnecessarily. Placing the tooth or fragment in milk helps preserve it.
Impacted Teeth
Impacted teeth are unable to make their way through the gums. Children and adults may have impacted teeth without pain, such as their wisdom teeth, which should be removed eventually.
Other times, gums around impacted teeth may become red, swollen, and sore. The area can ache, throb, and be quite painful. And your child may have other symptoms because of impacted teeth, such as bad breath, headaches, or jaw pain.
If your child has impacted teeth, have our dentist take a look. Contact our office at 480-830-5466 for an appointment.
Sensitive Teeth
Children may notice their teeth are sensitive when they’re touched or when eating foods or drinks that are hot, cold, sweet, or sour. These sensations are easily transmitted to the nerves in the center of the tooth (pulp). Mild sensitivity can be caused by receded gums or a worn-down tooth.
Extreme sensitivity to temperatures or sweet or sour tastes can mean that the tooth has been injured or exposed by wear, a tooth has cracked, a deep cavity is present, or a filling has been lost. The dentist may need to perform a pulpotomy if active decay in a child’s tooth reaches the pulp. The infected areas need to be removed, and we will place a sedative medication inside the tooth to prevent sensitivity and promote healing. A stainless steel crown is placed over the tooth to maintain tooth alignment until the permanent tooth can take its place (a white-facing crown is placed on front teeth).
If your child is complaining of sensitivity, call our office today at 480-830-5466.
Toothaches
Is your child feeling pain? If your child has a toothache, the cause is most likely tooth decay. If food or debris is present, rinse the affected tooth with warm water or use dental floss to remove impacted food or debris. And call us for an appointment.
Another cause could be a tooth infection. Look for a red, swollen bump near or on the side of the sore tooth. Does it hurt when your child bites down? DO NOT place aspirin on the gum or on the aching tooth. If the child’s face is swollen, apply cold compresses. Call our office within 24 hours.
For any type of toothache, call us at 480-830-5466 to make an appointment.
