How to Know if Your Child’s Tooth Pain Is a Dental Emergency

A child can experience dental problems anytime, anywhere. Much as some problems may not be severe, there are others that you shouldn't ignore. Here are ways to know that your child needs emergency dental care.

Losing a Tooth

In normal circumstances, children lose teeth at a particular stage in life. However, there are instances where a child would lose a tooth unexpectedly. For instance, when a child falls while playing and loses a tooth, this is an emergency, and you'd want to call for a family dentist who can try and help you revive your child's tooth.

Persistent Pain in the Tooth

Pain in the tooth means that there are underlying issues, and delay can lead to severe abscess, erosion, decay, or inflammation. In this case, over-the-counter medication is not going to help your child.

Instead, you need to help them sooner rather than later by getting emergency dental care from specialists for professional treatment. The specialist will relieve your child from the pain check out the root cause and treat the underlying issues to avoid recurrence.

Chipped Tooth

A chipped or broken tooth comes with a lot of pain. Even though you can use a cold compress with some pain medication, you should also connect with a dentist for emergency care. This is not something to ignore, even if the child doesn't feel much pain. A dentist will assess the tooth's status and know the best treatment to give to your child.

Losing Teeth in Unusual Circumstances

When a child starts losing teeth without the typical warning signs, it indicates an underlying issue that needs emergency dental care. The child might lose teeth on several occasions while experiencing varying symptoms such as swollen lymph nodes, pain, and nausea. If you notice such changes, you need to call an emergency care dentist as soon as possible.

Dental Abscess

When a child's tooth becomes abscessed, it means that the root has an infection. Your child may experience symptoms such as fever, bad taste in the mouth, redness, pain in the gum and jaw, and swelling of the jaw. There could also be pus, but you may not quickly spot it with the naked eye.

When you realize that your child has abscess signs, you need to call for emergency dental care as soon as possible. Waiting for long or leaving it unattended can lead to the spread of the infection to other parts of the body.

The best way to stay informed about your child's tooth's health status is by checking them out often. Your child may not realize that there is a problem unless he/she starts experiencing pain. If you doubt whether your child needs emergency dental care or not, you can reach out for help from a professional.