UTMB

Children can lose teeth while playing sports, after falling, riding on bicycles, chewing hard items, or from being in a car wreck. Children should wear protective gear, such as mouth guards when playing contact sports and should always be buckled up in age-appropriate car seats, booster seats, or seatbelts when traveling in automobiles.

 

Always call your dentist if your child has an injury to his or her gums or teeth. If your child has an injury to his or her gums, soak a piece of gauze in cold water and use it to apply pressure to any bleeding. If there is swelling, give your child a popsicle. Watch your child for the next days to make sure that your child does not have fever and the area does not stay swollen and tender, and if your child has any of these symptoms, call your pediatrician.

If your child has a baby tooth knocked out, it does not need to be put back in, but you should contact your child’s dentist to see if your child will need a spacer put it to make sure that the rest of the teeth stay in place.  

 

Having a permanent tooth knocked out is a dental emergency and if the tooth is put back in its socket quickly, it can be saved. A permanent tooth can be saved if it is replaced within about 30 minutes.

In order to save your child’s tooth:

Rinse the damaged area of the mouth with warm water and then give the child a cold compress or popsicle to hold on the injured area

Give your child a gauze pad to bite down on to reduce the bleeding and ease the pain.

Find the tooth or pieces of the tooth if it is chipped or broken. Determine whether or not it is a baby or permanent tooth (a baby tooth will have a smooth edge). If you are not sure, call a dentist or doctor immediately

Never touch the root-part of the tooth

Gently rinse the tooth, but do not scrub it, with saline or milk. Do not rinse it with tap water because it may damage the root

See your child’s dentist or go to the ER right away

Store the tooth in milk or place it between your cheek and lower gum to keep it from drying out until you get to the ER or dentist

If your child loses a tooth after a blow to the head or face, take your child to the emergency room immediately because he or she may have a head injury as well.