This article describes some common problems parents can expect with their children's teeth and some tips on how to be prepared and what to do about them when they happen.
Dental problems range in their degree of seriousness. The following tips can prove helpful:
Dental problems in children could be hereditary. Regular brushing and flossing may not be enough to prevent serious cavities. Consult your dentist to correct the problem while your child is young.
Heredity affects hardness of enamel, size, and shape of teeth and jaws. Problems may require dental restorations or orthodontic intervention.
Children now do not always have to wear painful braces and metal wires to correct irregular teeth. There are various dental corrective appliances available in plastic. Dentists now advise dental corrections at a young age.
It is now easy to fill dental cavities. Dentists have more choices for filling teeth. Materials for filling teeth include composite resins rather than the traditional silver-mercury alloy. Composite resins are bonded and hence, fillings do not have the tendency to pop out. Resins are available in a range of tooth colors.
Dentists prefer using stainless steel and/or plastic crowns to cover teeth in case of malformation of baby teeth, fracture, or extensive decay. This maintains tooth form and position for optimal jaw development.
If your child is into sports, encourage your child to wear mouth guards to help prevent injuries.
You should schedule regular meetings with your dentist to make your child comfortable with dental visits. Practice good dental habits like regular brushing and flossing to prevent major dental problems. Also, limit the intake of sugary and sticky foods for your children, as these affect dental health immensely.
What Should You Do in Case of a Dental Emergency?
Dental emergencies can occur anytime and hence, being prepared beforehand is essential and helpful. Always keep all contact numbers of your dentist in a handy place so that it is easy to contact them in an emergency. Common dental emergencies in children include chipped teeth due to accident and teeth knocked out or loosened due to trauma.
If a traumatic incident occurs, knocking your child’s tooth out or just causing a loosening or mobility, contact dentist immediately within an hour, if possible. The dentist can re-implant the tooth and save it. Until then, rinse tooth in water (distilled if possible) without touching tooth root.
You can try to place tooth back into socket and secure it with a wet wrap. If this is not possible, preserve tooth in a cup of milk or saliva until you meet the dentist.
If your child feels pain due to a chipped tooth, it indicates possible injury or exposure of the tooth nerve. Meet with your dentist as soon as possible for evaluation for possible root canal treatment or similar measures to save tooth. Your dentist may treat the tooth temporarily and later fix a bonded restoration to make up for the chipped tooth. If there is no pain, set an appointment with your dentist and meet them at the earliest convenient time. The emergency is not as pressing, but future nerve damage cannot be ruled out until the dentist examines the injury even if there is no immediate pain.
If your child is into sports, ask him to use protective mouth guards. These plastic guards protect teeth as well as the lips, gums, and cheeks. Semi-formable mouth guards available at sports shops require boiling to give a perfect fit. Dentists also make mouth guards with molds that fit in snugly.
Dental emergencies can occur due to severe toothache arising from dental cavities, infections, food stuck between teeth, and broken fillings. Rinse your child’s mouth every hour with warm water. Clean affected tooth area with toothbrush and floss thoroughly. Use toothpick to dislodge any food material stuck in between teeth. Use an ice pack on affected area to relieve pain. Refrain from placing aspirin on child’s gum, as it could cause aspirin burn. If there is any swelling around eyes or cheeks, place ice pack. Ice packs should only be left in place for ten minutes at a time, then removed for ten minutes. Then repeat the cycle. Take your child to a dentist immediately.
If you have small children, keep your home safe and free of furniture with sharp edges and corners as much as possible. Toddlers often suffer dental injuries while they are learning to stand. Children sometimes injure their teeth while ramming into water fountains while drinking water. Accidental bumping into each other could cause teeth injuries in children.
