If you’re raising children in Hendricks County, you know that accidents can happen at any time and anywhere. But do you know how to handle a dental emergency if your child has one?
First and foremost, for any dental emergency, you need to take your child to your dentist or an emergency room as soon as possible. Injuries to your child’s teeth or gums can be potentially serious. Therefore, you shouldn’t ignore them. When you ignore a dental emergency, your child may risk having permanent oral damage that requires more extensive – and expensive – treatment later.
Here are some additional things you can do if your child has a common dental emergency:
- Knocked-out tooth – Retrieve your child’s tooth, holding it by the crown. Rinse off the tooth root with water if it’s dirty. Try to place the tooth back in the socket, without touching the root. Don’t force it in. If you can’t reinsert the tooth in the socket, place it in a small container of milk, a cup of water with a pinch of table salt, or a Save-a-Tooth solution container. Get the tooth and your child to a dentist right away.
- Chipped or broken tooth – Have your child rinse his/her mouth with warm water immediately to clean the area. Rinse and save any pieces. Place cold compresses on your child’s face to reduce swelling.
- Lost filling – Stick a piece of sugarless gum into the cavity in your child’s tooth. Or, use an over-the-counter dental cement.
- Soft-tissue (tongue, cheeks, gums, or lips) injuries – Control bleeding by having your child rinse his/her mouth with a mild salt-water solution. Apply pressure to the site with a moistened piece of gauze to reduce bleeding. Hold the gauze in place for 15 to 20 minutes. To relieve pain, have your child hold a cold compress to the outside of their face in the affected area.
If your child doesn’t have a dentist, contact the Hendricks County office of Danville Family Dentistry at 317-745-4400 to schedule an appointment.
If You Don’t Have Dental Insurance
If your child experiences a dental emergency and you don’t have dental insurance, it’s still important that your child be seen by a dentist as soon as possible. Prompt attention can be the difference between your child keeping or losing a tooth. Plus, you want to make sure any bleeding is controlled and that possible infections are prevented.
If your child isn’t covered by dental insurance, you may want to check out Danville Family Dentistry’s Smile Savings Plan. This patient-courtesy program provides your child with a year’s worth of preventative dental care. For $285 (paid annually), your child can receive 2 professional oral evaluations, 2 professional cleanings, 2 fluoride treatments (ages 16 and under), and regularly scheduled X-rays each year. Also, if your child needs additional dental work done, such as in a dental emergency, you’ll receive a 15% discount on any services we provide.
Our Smile Savings Plan is a great way to help your child maintain healthy teeth and gums as they grow. For more information about this program and to sign up, contact our Hendricks County office at 317-745-4400.
(317) 745-4400
