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Dental emergencies never happen on your schedule. So what should you do when your child has a dental injury or another emergency like a toothache? Sometimes your dentist can save you a trip to the emergency room. Contact our team at Kids Tooth Team! We offer same-day and after-hours appointments and expert emergency dental care for patients in Buda and South Austin, and Kyle TX! Call us to schedule an emergency appointment.
A dental emergency is any oral health problem that is causing your child pain or discomfort, or is causing serious oral bleeding. It’s that simple. If your child is in pain and you don’t know what to do, you need help from an experienced emergency dentist in Buda or South Austin.
Dental trauma is the cause of a lot of emergencies like cracked and broken teeth, loose and missing teeth, and oral cuts and lacerations. These are all very serious problems, and demand immediate care.
However, there are a lot of other conditions that also count as emergencies, such as a pulled-out or loose crown or filling, a serious toothache, or even a piece of food that’s stuck between your child’s teeth and won’t come out. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so give Kids Tooth Team a call and tell us about your situation. We’ll help you get the care your child needs.
Our team of doctors are also available for an at-home teledentistry consultation for emergencies. Through a 2-way video chat, we may be able to address the concern or situation without you even having to come into the office.
Immediate dental care is very important if your child has a dental emergency, for several reasons.
First, it ensures that your child does not experience any further complications related to their condition. This saves you both time and money. For example, by treating a serious cavity early, you can avoid the need for a more invasive procedure like a nerve treatment.
Seeing a dentist right away also helps your child get relief from their pain and discomfort, and allows them to get back to their day-to-day life. After treatment, you’ll also get peace of mind, knowing that your child’s smile is healthy and free of any major dental issues.
Additionally, if your child’s tooth is cracked or knocked out for whatever reason (especially an adult tooth) it is essential that they are seen by a dentist quickly to be able to give that tooth the best chance of surviving. Please call us ASAP if your child has experienced a dental trauma such as this so that we can get them taken care of immediately.
Not sure what to do when your child is experiencing a dental emergency? Here are a few steps to follow to ensure they get the care they need from Kids Tooth Team:
If your child has any loss of consciousness or has experienced any suspected head or neck trauma, please call 911 or take them to the emergency room first. Your medical doctors will want to rule out any possibility of a concussion or serious head injury before we address any dental concerns.
If an adult tooth is knocked out or broken to the point that you can see blood in the tooth your child will need to be seen at our office ASAP to give that tooth the best chance of being placed back in the mouth and surviving. If we can save it, it will likely need a splint.
If an adult tooth has a small chip or feels a little loose, we would still like to see you the day of the accident to see if the tooth needs to be splinted and to make sure that nothing more has happened to that tooth, root, or your jaw bone.
If a baby tooth has been knocked out or is broken to the point that you see blood: Baby teeth cannot be placed back in the mouth the same way that adult teeth can, but if your child’s baby tooth has been knocked out due to an accident, we would still like to see them as soon as possible (same day or the next day) to make sure that no pieces of the root are left in the bone and to make sure no stitches in the gums are needed.
If a baby tooth has a small chip or feels a little loose, come in the same day or next day after the accident to make sure the root of the tooth hasn’t fractured and that the chip isn’t too close to the nerve.
First, call Kids Tooth Team at (512) 523-4774 to set up a same-day or after-hours appointment. We’re always here to help when your child needs emergency dental care.
If your child loses a tooth or chips their tooth, you need to put the tooth or tooth fragment into a container of milk or in a cup of your or your child’s spit to keep it moist, and need to be seen within an hour at the office. (Never put a tooth in cold water or on ice). If their dental work like a filling, crown, or space maintainer is pulled out or falls out, put it into a small plastic baggie or container to bring it in with you.
Over-the-counter medicine like children’s Tylenol or Motrin can help with pain. If your child’s mouth is bleeding, you can use clean paper towels or gauze to absorb the blood. Please, never apply an over-the-counter numbing medicine or teething gel to your infant or child’s mouth or gums. These medicines can cause serious, life-threatening reactions. Though pain medicine or ice may help in the short term, they are all temporary measures. This pain could be a sign that something serious is going on with your child’s teeth or in their mouth. Make sure you see Kids Tooth Team for care right away for professional dental care in Buda.
We’re always here to help our patients get the dental care they need. We offer both same-day appointments and after-hours emergency care.
Just speak with one of our team members to schedule an appointment with one of our skilled pediatric dentists. If your child is having a serious emergency, we’ll see you as soon as possible!
By appointment, we also offer after-hours care for your child. If you can’t make it in during our business hours, just give us a call to set up an emergency after-hours consultation for your little one.
The answer is usually “no.” As the name suggests, the Emergency Room (ER) at a hospital is for very serious, life-threatening emergencies only. In most cases, tooth pain does not qualify as a life-threatening emergency, so it’s not a good idea to go to the ER for treatment. Instead, you should see a qualified pediatric emergency dentist like Dr. Alex.
Another reason not to go to the ER is that most emergency rooms don’t have a dentist on staff. If the ER does have a dentist, they usually will not specialize in pediatric dental care. Even if you do go to the emergency room, the staff may recommend that you see a local emergency dentist for treatment.
Another reason to avoid the ER is that it’s much more expensive. Even if your child needs minor dental treatment and the ER can provide it, you’ll pay a premium compared to the cost of taking your child to an emergency dentist in South Austin, Kyle, or Buda.
There are exceptions, of course. If you truly believe that your child’s life is in danger, you should absolutely take them to the ER. For example, if they get into a nasty accident and you suspect that they have a broken jaw, you should head straight to the emergency room. Or, if they have a dental issue that’s preventing them from swallowing or breathing properly, the ER is the right place to go.
Overall, you should use your best judgment. While tooth pain and other dental emergencies can be urgent and require immediate care, they are not usually life-threatening. This means that Kids Tooth Team is usually the best place to seek emergency care for your child.
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Whether you’re the parent of a toddler or a teenager, there are a lot of different things that can happen to your child’s mouth and require emergency treatment from the team at Kids Tooth Team. Wondering what the most common dental emergencies are for kids? Here’s a look at the most common emergencies, as well as the procedures that are required to treat them.
Toothaches/infected teeth
Toothaches can happen for lots of reasons. But if your child is complaining of a painful toothache that won’t go away or gets worse after a day or two, they may have an infected tooth. This happens when oral trauma or tooth decay destroys the outside of their tooth, exposing the “pulp” inside the tooth to bacteria.
Depending on the tooth, your child may need treatment with a pulpotomy or a root canal. In these procedures, Dr. Alex will remove the source of the infection, then treat your child’s tooth and cover it up with a crown to protect it in the future.
Broken, chipped, and cracked teeth
Dental trauma can happen to kids when you least expect it. Whether they're horsing around, playing sports, or just have a nasty slip and fall, this can damage their teeth. Chipped, cracked, and broken teeth all count as dental emergencies, and require immediate care to relieve pain and prevent further complications.
If your child damages one of their teeth, you need to contact Kids Tooth Team right away. Dr. Alex will provide the care they need. This may be a filling or a crown depending on the severity of the damage, and a pulpotomy or root canal may also sometimes be necessary for deeper cracks.
Loose teeth
If your child has a loose baby tooth, this is not usually a concern unless it’s due to oral trauma. However, if your child has a loose adult tooth or their baby tooth comes loose earlier than it’s supposed to, this is a dental emergency. In kids, loose teeth are usually caused by dental trauma. Gum disease can also cause loose teeth, but this is extremely rare in younger kids.
To treat a loose baby tooth, Dr. Alex will begin by making sure their tooth is in good condition. If your child has a loose baby tooth, she will usually remove it and place a space maintainer in the area. This maintains the proper gap in your child’s smile until their permanent tooth emerges.
For loose adult teeth, tooth splinting is usually the best option. Dr. Alex will use special materials to hold the loose tooth in place and attach it to nearby healthy teeth. This allows the tooth to heal and re-attach properly to your child’s gums.
Knocked-out teeth
A knocked-out tooth is always a dental emergency. If your child knocks out one of their teeth, call Kids Tooth Team right away. Unless the tooth is replaced within 1-2 hours, it may not be possible to save it. Recover the tooth, put it into a container of cold milk, and bring it with you to our office.
Again, if your child loses a baby tooth early, Dr. Alex may simply recommend a space maintainer. But if they knock out an adult tooth, Dr. Alex will place it back into the proper area and splint it to the other teeth. If you get treatment right after your child’s oral injury, it’s usually possible to save their tooth.
Lacerations and cuts to the mouth
If your child falls or is struck in the face, their teeth can cut their cheeks, tongue, and lips. Minor cuts usually do not require any treatment. But in some cases, deep cuts may not stop bleeding on their own. They will also cause pain and can present a serious infection risk.
If your child has deep lacerations or cuts to their mouth and the bleeding doesn’t slow down within a few minutes, you should call Kids Tooth Team for an emergency appointment. Dr. Alex can clean your child’s mouth, suture the wound, and ensure that it heals properly.
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