No parent ever wants to see their child suffering through the pain of a tooth or jaw injury. But accidents happen with active kids and you want to be prepared. We’ve created this guide to help you know what to do in case your little one ever has a dental emergency.

What are Pediatric Dentistry Emergency Services?

Emergency pediatric dental care includes any service that relieves a child’s pain in the mouth or jaw. They are also used to address harm to dental health, such as structural damage to the teeth.

Specific types of emergency pediatric dentist care include:

• Treatment for broken teeth
• Treatment for severe toothaches
• Repair of knocked-out (avulsed) teeth
• Replacing missing crowns or fillings
• Remedying serious dental infections

When to See an Emergency Dentist

Not sure if your child’s dental accident or injury requires urgent treatment? Take a look at the list of most common pediatric dental emergencies below. These instances all warrant seeing an emergency dentist like Las Vegas’s Children’s Dentistry. Familiarizing yourself with the top emergency situations in children will help you know when it’s time to seek a dentist’s services.

Toothaches

Severe toothaches are one of the most common dental emergencies among children. If your child begins to complain of a painful tooth or serious pressure in the ears or jaw, you should apply a cold compress to the area and seek an emergency pediatric dentist’s services.

Broken Teeth

Broken or fractured teeth happen quite often during childhood as a result of playing team sports or roughhousing at the playground. If your child breaks a tooth, gather as many of the pieces as you can, and take your child to the dentist immediately.

Oral Abscess

One of the most painful types of dental emergencies, an abscessed tooth is an infection that occurs at the roots of the teeth. Symptoms of an oral abscess to watch out for include a sudden fever, swollen gums, or an unexplained bad taste in the mouth. You should reach out to your Las Vegas pediatric dentist for emergency care as soon as possible, as an untreated infection in the mouth can quickly spread to other parts of the body and cause serious medical concerns.

Avulsed (Knocked-Out Teeth)

A child’s tooth that has been knocked completely out of the mouth requires emergency care. Keep your child as calm as possible and retrieve the missing tooth before heading to your pediatric dentist’s office, being sure to pick it up by the crown and not the roots. Gently clean the tooth with warm water and place it back in the mouth of older children or in a container of milk for younger children, in order to keep it moist.

Loose or Lost Fillings

If you have a child with a tooth filling that has become loose or even lost, get them in for pediatric dentist emergency services as soon as possible. A loose or lost tooth filling can be quite painful and also cause dental problems down the road, including possible oral infections, and it should be treated immediately.

Overly Sensitive Teeth

Just as many adults suffer from sensitive teeth, children can also be afflicted by this frustrating dental condition. But the cause of sensitive teeth tends to be different in children, as toddlers can often experience pain in their baby teeth, and older children could be dealing with an injury or cavity that’s gone unnoticed. Sudden and overly sensitive teeth in children should be examined as soon as possible by an experienced emergency pediatric dentist in Las Vegas.

Orthodontic Injury or Discomfort

Older children with braces may experience a broken bracket or other orthodontic issues from time to time. Sudden pain with braces can be stressful and scary for adolescents and should be addressed immediately by their pediatric orthodontist or dentist, whether the cause is trauma to the mouth or something that seems unknown.

Dental Decay or Enamel Wear

While worn enamel from grinding of the teeth or a cavity might not seem like an urgent problem, both can be painful and might require pediatric dental services. If your child is complaining of sudden pain in their mouth or jaw, it’s better to be safe than sorry and have them examined by an emergency pediatric dentist.

Does Your Child Need a Trip to the ER?

In some cases, visiting an experienced pediatric dentist might not be enough for the treatment of your child’s injury. But it can be tough to know when your little one needs dental care or a trip to the ER.

If your child experiences any of the following, you should call 911 or go to the hospital:

• Sudden, severe injury to the face or head
• Uncontrollable bleeding from the mouth
• Extreme swelling of the jaw or gums

Where to Seek Children’s Emergency Dental Care

When your child is having a dental emergency, it’s crucial that you seek treatment for them as soon as possible. But in the heat of the moment, you might not have time to search online for “pediatric dentist emergency services near me,” which is why it’s important to know where to go before your child’s been injured.

Your child’s pediatric dentist is a great place to start. You should discuss how they deal with dental emergencies the next time you take your little one in for a regular visit. Your child will feel more comfortable with familiar faces. Your regular pediatric dentist might also offer flexible payment options that will come in handy when the need is urgent.

Get Caring Pediatric Dentist Emergency Services in Las Vegas

Children’s Dentistry of Las Vegas is here to help your child in a dental emergency! With 10 convenient locations, we have an office nearby when you need it. We’re dedicated to providing excellent pediatric dental care in Las Vegas. Give our compassionate and knowledgeable staff a call today at (702) 832-0508 to discuss how to best handle your child’s urgent dental needs.