Child Care: What's Hot Now: Fast Reaction Can Save Tooth

Child Care: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week

Fast Reaction Can Save Tooth Aug 11th 2011, 10:02 It can happen to anyone, anywhere, and at almost any time. Kids can damage teeth through sports, falling, riding bikes, playing in general, or who knows doing what? But how you respond to dental trauma can determine whether the tooth can be salvaged. Here are some quick tips for parents, coaches and child care providers in the event a child damages a tooth: A tooth gets chipped. If you can find the chip, save it. It makes color matching easier. If the chip exposed what's called the dentin or pulp, then chances are great that bacteria in the mouth will infect it. The trauma itself could also have caused damage, and may not always be immediately apparent. Typically, the dentists waits for a short period of time to determine the extent of any damage. If the tooth hurts, changes color or is sensitive to cold or heat, chances are a root canal will be required. But, in the meantime, the dentist will patch the chipped tooth. A tooth gets knocked out of position. If the tooth isn't too badly moved, try gently moving it back into the proper position. Doing so may help preserve the ligament tissue. A root canal may still be needed, but moving it back into place (when possible) can help improve the chance that the tooth will reattach to the jawbone properly. If the tooth has been knocked out of position and is essentially "dangling," dentists may have to splint it. The most important thing to do is to get to a dentist as soon as possible. A tooth gets knocked out completely. Locate the tooth (if possible) and put it back into the socket as soon as possible. If it's dirty, rinse it off very gently with milk or water. Be sure not to scrub the tooth; the any tissue on the tooth helps reduce the chance of it becoming re-attached. If you can't place the tooth back in the socket, then put it in cold milk or a salt water mix. If that is not available, then good ol' spit still works better than plain water. NEVER wrap the tooth in a towel or napkin; doing so dries out any tissue that is still attached to the tooth. Get to the dentist as soon as possible! Consider whether it is a baby tooth or adult tooth. For obvious reasons, having a baby tooth knocked out or damaged is typically much less traumatic than having the same occurrence with an adult tooth. However, be sure to follow up with a dentist after a baby tooth is damaged/knocked-out. An examination can determine whether any stop-gap measure is needed and whether there is any underlying damage to the permanent teeth or jawline.

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