What to do if your child has a knocked-out tooth

sports are the main cause for a child has a knocked-out tooth
sports are the main cause for a child has a knocked-out tooth

What to do if your child has a knocked-out tooth

As we head into the warmer months of spring and summer, the risk of dental trauma injury in kids is a lot higher.  In this article we are going to give you specific instructions of what to do if your child has a knocked-out tooth.

About 90% of all kids’ dental trauma injury involves the upper front teeth, which are the most visible teeth in the mouth. Between the ages of 2-3 are when the most common trauma to baby teeth occurs, since kids are just beginning to walk. As a child gets older, injuries to the mouth in sports become the leading cause of dental trauma. This then becomes more concerning, since a child more than likely has permanent teeth that can be affected. Even if a child does not play sports, they are still at risk for a dental trauma injury, as it can happen any time. Outside of sports, bicycle riding is the leading cause of injuries to the mouth in children.

Click here to download our tooth trauma guide.

If your child has knocked out their tooth, we have a video that shows you what to do for a dental trauma injury to kids.

Just as with any dental injury, please immediately contact your child’s pediatric dentist for professional care. Your child’s pediatrician or the emergency room are likely not properly equipped or experienced in dealing with a tooth that has been knocked out.

First you want to determine with your child’s injury what the extent of the damage.
Is your child alert and stable? If so, then you can focus on the injury to the tooth.
If the tooth is completely knocked out, try to locate it. If you do find it, follow these steps below:

place a knocked-out tooth in saline

1.

place knocked-out tooth in sealed container

2.

place a damp gauze in socket where tooth was knocked-out

3.

contact your pediatric dentist in Alpine

4.

Gently rinse the tooth with milk, saline, water or saliva. DON’T TOUCH THE ROOT OR SCRUB THE TOOTH!

Put the tooth in a container that can be sealed, along with the milk, saline or saliva. DON’T store the tooth in water.

Place over the child’s socket (where tooth was knocked-out) a damp gauze and have them bite gently

Call your pediatric dentist as soon as possible.

place a knocked-out tooth in saline

1.

Gently rinse the tooth with milk, saline, water or saliva. DON’T TOUCH THE ROOT OR SCRUB THE TOOTH!

place knocked-out tooth in sealed container

2.

Put the tooth in a container that can be sealed, along with the milk, saline or saliva. DON’T store the tooth in water.

place a damp gauze in socket where tooth was knocked-out

3.

Place over the child’s socket (where tooth was knocked-out) a damp gauze and have them bite gently

contact your pediatric dentist in Alpine

4.

Call your pediatric dentist as soon as possible.

Studies reveal that 13-39% of all dental injuries in children are sports related

In the US, there are about 30 million children who participate in organized sports every year. Protecting their dental health and wellbeing is a top priority in our office.

While it is more commonly believed that football and hockey are sports that cause the most dental injury. In actuality, baseball and basketball are the sports with a much higher rate of injury for children between the ages of 13-17. Children who are engaged in any contact sport should use a mouth guard to minimize and/or prevent damage to their permanent teeth.

A custom mouth guard can be made by your pediatric dentist. These are typically more comfortable, have better protection and if made by Alpine Pediatric Dentistry can be customized with your sports team’s logo and your child’s jersey number.

If your child has a knocked out tooth, please call our office right away. If it is after hours, you can reach us through our emergency phone number and you can upload photos to expediate your child’s care, by clicking here.

Considering getting your child a custom mouth guard? Click here for more information.

Statistics for Dental Trauma injury in children

  • Sports-related injuries are found highest in males from the ages of 15-17.
  • Children between the ages of 7-11 are at higher risk for a dental trauma injury
  • The most common sports product related to a child’s dental injury are bicycles
  • Dental trauma injuries to baby teeth mainly occur when children are 2-3 years of age
  • Falls are the main cause of dental trauma in kids

What is the best toddler toothpaste?

what is the best toddler toothpaste
what is the best toddler toothpaste

What is the best toddler toothpaste?

We get this question from parents all the time: “Dr  J what kind of toothpaste should my toddler be using?” or “which toddler toothpaste is the best?” The short answer is none. In this article we will explain why and give you tips and ideas of what to use for your toddler’s brushing habits.

We will start by distinguishing the differences between kids toothpaste and what may be called a “toddler” or “trainer” toothpaste. A toddler or trainer type toothpaste are basically the exact same product. They are designed to be used by children who may swallow toothpaste.

A kids toothpaste contains fluoride and advises children not to swallow the toothpaste.

Toddler or Trainer toothpaste?

We do not recommend using either toddler or trainer toothpaste for your young child. And we will explain why that is not a doctor’s recommended choice for your toddler.

Firstly, you will notice that different products will market for 3-24 months while others are marketed for to 3-4 years of age. That difference in age grouping, can be quite confusing. Secondly, the products tend to give the impression that they are natural products and/or are free of sugar, color etc… But what they do not tell you know is what benefits they have for your child. To find out if there are any benefits, you want to look for their “active ingredient”. If you try to find an active ingredient in any of these products you won’t find one.

Trainer or “Toddler” toothpastes have ZERO active ingredients in them

Consider this, you’re giving your 6- or 12-month-old something that tastes good, but that has no benefit to them or their teeth. What the “Trainer” toothpaste is programming your child to think that toothbrush time is “lollipop” time, since it’s only benefit is that it tastes good. When you’re brushing your toddler’s teeth, you want to be training them that toothbrush time is a focused time to stay still, and open wide so that you can see what you need to and remove any plaque effectively.

We know that it can be challenging to remove plaque on a young child’s teeth and we have a video that gives you tips and ideas on how to help you, you can find it here.

In short, we do not recommend using Trainer toothpaste, click here for our suggestions on what type of toothpaste to use for your child.