Emergency Care
At Kids dental Sydney we understand that no parent ever wants to see their child in distress. If your child has dental pain, dental injuries or a facial swelling from a dental infection please contact our rooms and we will address this as a priority and offer you an appointment ASAP.
Tooth Ache
The most common cause of tooth ache is tooth decay. Other causes of toothache include chalky teeth, tooth fractures and dental trauma.
Impacted food can cause pain in young children and can be removed using a soft tooth brush or dental floss. If pain persists please contact us to arrange an appointment.
If your child’s symptoms include throbbing, pain, fever, malaise it is imperative to seek emergency care immediately. After hours emergencies can be managed by seeking care at your local hospital emergency department or through the children’s hospital at Westmead.
Dental Trauma
It is important that all dental trauma be assessed immediately by a dentist. General advice following dental trauma-Complete the course of antibiotics if prescribed and maintain a soft diet for 1-2 weeks. Brush with a soft tooth brush after every meal and if chlorhexidine has been recommended use this instead of tooth paste for the next week.
FAQS
If a child bumps the baby tooth it can go grey/dark within 2-3 weeks following the accident. Most dark baby teeth lighten back. This can take up to 6 months. Sometimes they lighten back to an opaque look which is due to the canal closing up and this unlikely to cause any further problems. At times the tooth can turn a pink colour due to the tooth resorbing from inside out.
If the dark tooth continues to remain the same dark colour and there are no other signs of infection then no treatment is usually required other than regular follow up with your dentist. The dentist will take x-rays to ensure that the tooth is not infected.
If the dark tooth gets infected and the child complains of pain and swelling or a lump appears in the gum above the affected tooth then extraction is recommended to avoid damage to the permanent tooth developing underneath.
This is a common injury where the tooth can be tender, the gums may bleed and the tooth seems loose but is in the same position as before. Treatment may not be required if the pain subsides but will require review with your dentist to ensure infection does not develop.
If, however, the permanent tooth is very loose it may be necessary to place a splint to hold it in place as it heals.
If the primary tooth has been knocked backwards and your child is able to bite down normally, the tooth may be left to reposition on its own. If the tooth interferes with the bite it is important to reposition the tooth using finger pressure immediately following the accident. Depending on the extent of the injury extraction may also be necessary.
Children under the age of 3 are at highest risk of damaging the developing permanent tooth with this type of injury. There is no way of finding out for sure the permanent tooth has been affected until it erupts. Colour changes may be noticed on the enamel.
In permanent incisors, short term orthodontic repositioning may be considered.
If it is a primary tooth that has been knocked out it is recommended not to place the tooth back in the socket as it can result in damage to the underlying permanent tooth. It is important that teeth knocked out are accounted for as they can be aspirated (inhaled).
If it is a permanent tooth – find the tooth, rinse it (do not scrub it clean) and put it back right away. If you are unable to do so, store it in a moist environment such as milk and make your way to a dental surgery close by so that the dentist can reposition the tooth ASAP. For the best chance of saving the tooth, it has to be replaced within 5 minutes. The dentist will then place a splint to hold the tooth in whilst it heals. The tooth will then need root canal therapy.
This is a common injury. If the chipped tooth is a primary tooth and it is a small chip then there is nothing to worry about and can be left as is or the rough surface smoothened. If it is a larger fracture a filling will have to be placed.
When this type of injury occurs in permanent teeth it can be quite distressing for the child and parents. We recommend you place the broken piece in saliva or milk and come and see us right away. Most often we can reattach the piece to the remaining tooth. A white filling can also be easily placed making the tooth look good. Depending on the extent of the fracture this filling may have to be replaced with a porcelain crown as the child gets older. At times if the fracture is large and the nerve is exposed, a medication is placed on the nerve before restoring it with a filling. The larger the exposure the more likelihood that the tooth will eventually need root canal therapy.