Is this your child's symptom?
- Injury to a tooth
Types of Tooth Injuries
- Loosened Tooth. May bleed a little from the gums. Usually tightens up on its own.
- Displaced Tooth. Usually pushed inward. Needs to be seen.
- Chipped Tooth. Minor fracture with small corner of tooth missing tooth. The fracture goes to the dentin (yellow color), not the pulp (red color). Not painful. See dentist during office hours.
- Fractured Tooth. The fracture goes down to the pulp. The pulp is where the blood supply and nerves to the tooth are located. The main finding is a red dot or bleeding in the center of the tooth. Very painful. Needs a root canal to save the tooth.
- Knocked-Out Permanent Tooth. Also called an avulsed tooth. A dental emergency. Needs to be re-implanted within 2 hours.
- Knocked-Out Baby Tooth. It cannot be re-implanted. See during dental office hours.
Symptoms
- The main symptom is pain.
- Minor bleeding from the gums may occur.
When to Call for Tooth Injury
Go to ER Now
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Call Your Dentist or Doctor Now
Contact Your Dentist Within 24 Hours
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Contact Your Dentist During Office Hours
Self Care at Home
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Go to ER Now
- Bleeding that won't stop after 10 minutes of direct pressure
Call Your Dentist or Doctor Now
- Permanent (adult) tooth knocked out. Reason: needs to be put back within 2 hours to survive.
- Permanent (adult) tooth is almost falling out
- Baby tooth is almost falling out
- Tooth is pushed far out of its normal place
- Tooth that's pushed out of its normal place makes it hard to chew
- Severe pain and not better 2 hours after taking pain medicine
- Age less than 1 year old
- You think your child has a serious injury
- You think your child needs to be seen, and the problem is urgent
Contact Your Dentist Within 24 Hours
- You think your child needs to be seen, but the problem is not urgent
- Baby tooth knocked out by injury. Reason: can't be put back. But, dentist needs to check for damage to permanent tooth inside the gum.
- Tooth is slightly pushed out of its normal place
- Chip or crack in the tooth
- Tooth feels very loose when you try to move it
Contact Your Dentist During Office Hours
- Cold fluids cause tooth pain
- Tooth turns a darker color
- Crown or cap comes off. Note: save the crown for the dentist.
- You have other questions or concerns
Self Care at Home
- Minor tooth injury
Care Advice for Minor Dental Injuries
Cold for Pain:
- For pain, put a piece of ice or a popsicle on the injured gum.
- You can also use a cold pack on the cheek.
- Apply for 20 minutes.
Pain Medicine:
- To help with the pain, give an acetaminophen product (such as Tylenol).
- Another choice is an ibuprofen product (such as Advil).
- Use as needed.
Soft Diet:
- For any loose teeth, offer a soft diet.
- Avoid foods that need much chewing.
- You can go back to a normal diet after 3 days. By then, the tooth should be tightened up.
What to Expect:
- Tooth pain most often goes away in 2 or 3 days.
Call Your Dentist If:
- Pain becomes severe
- Cold fluids cause tooth pain
- Tooth turns a darker color
- You think your child needs to be seen
- Your child becomes worse
