Summertime is fun-time for kids. They are active and enjoying the longer days. As I’m writing this, I’m watching kids play at the pool, jumping and splashing and getting themselves tired out. You never know when an errant leg or a slippery pool deck can lead to a fall and a tooth injury. It’s a good idea for parents and caregivers to have a basic idea of what to do in the case of a baby tooth emergency.
Here are the most common baby tooth emergencies I see during the summer months in my pediatric dental practice.
•Tooth Concussion – A tooth concussion happens when a tooth gets impacted by some traumatic force. This can happen from a fall or from hitting the tooth. The tooth doesn’t look out of place, but it has taken an impact. It’s important to gently brush the tooth because the gums around an injured tooth can be sore. Parents should lift up the lip and look for any color change in the tooth and also for any sore areas in the gums. Sometimes the upper lip frenum, the attachment of the upper lip to the gum area around the teeth, can get torn or injured. If there’s an injury, it’s a good idea to have the teeth professionally checked. I have seen parents focus on an injured front tooth that is easily seen, and not see a fractured molar or torn gums or tongue laceration that happened during the same injury.
•Tooth Fracture – Baby teeth have thicker enamel compared to permanent teeth. That’s part of the reason why they usually look so white and bright. When a force strikes a baby tooth, the tooth can flex slightly. But when the force is strong enough, the baby tooth can fracture. Dentists grade fractures by how deep into the tooth the fracture goes. Most fractures I see are simple chips in the enamel on the chewing edge of the baby front teeth that are barely noticed. More serious injuries can produce more complicated fractures which extend into the deeper areas of the tooth like the yellow-colored dentin or even deeper into the pink-colored pulp. It’s important for fractured baby teeth to be evaluated by a dentist to determine if there’s sensitivity and if there’s a need for treatment. While some small fractures are totally fine and can just be monitored, deeper fractures may require treatment to avoid long-term damage to the developing permanent teeth.
•Avulsion aka “Tooth Comes Flying Out” – With a direct hit on an inanimate object like a bathtub or end-table, a baby tooth can be subjected to enough force that it literally comes flying out of the mouth. This is referred to as a tooth avulsion or tooth loss. Baby teeth should NEVER be re-planted in the socket. The body considers a re-planted baby tooth a foreign object (like a splinter) and will cause an infection that can lead to problems with the adult tooth underneath. Kids usually have baby front teeth until at least six years old. But if you are unsure if a knocked-out tooth is a baby tooth or a permanent tooth, you can put the tooth in a jar of milk and keep the milk cold in the fridge until you can get to a dentist. We can tell if a tooth is a permanent or baby tooth based on the child’s age, the shape of the tooth and root, and also an X-ray.
Baby tooth injuries can be scary, especially for first-time parents. It can be helpful to have a dentist for your child before an injury occurs. That is one of the reasons why the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends the first dental visit by age one year. This first visit establishes your child as a patient and gives you a “dental home” so you are not scrambling to find a dentist after-hours, or on a weekend. Your child’s dentist can evaluate injured teeth and make the best plan for treatment.
-by Dr. Mandy Ashley
About Our Dentists: Dr. Mandy Ashley and Dr. Madison Galloway are Board Certified Pediatric Dentists proud to serve the communities of Bowling Green, Hopkinsville, and Glasgow! We look forward to sharing our vision of excellent comprehensive dental care that is fun for children and people with special healthcare needs with your family.
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