Downey Park Family Dentistry is excited to announce that our offices are reopen to serve our community. We are taking additional special measures to ensure the health and safety of our patients and team, and appreciate your understanding that things will look and function a bit differently in our office for the time being.
Emergency dentistry is available to patients who have experienced a dental injury or accident, or are in severe dental pain and discomfort. The goal of emergency dental care is to get patients out of pain quickly and back to optimal oral health as soon as possible.
Between contact sports and exploring their worlds, children can have an accident at any time. That’s why our Modesto children's dentist will often leave openings in their schedules for same-day emergency appointments, so they can address your child’s needs as soon as possible. Contact First Smiles Children's Dentistry for an appointment in Modesto today!
More than 5 million teeth are knocked out every year in both children and adults.
It’s easy to panic and feel anxious when your child injures their mouth. But try your best to stay calm and collected. Panicking will only stress your child, so keep a clear head, assess the severity of the situation, and get things under control.
If your child’s mouth is bleeding, use clean gauze, cotton balls, or paper towels to absorb the blood, and apply gentle but firm pressure to control the bleeding. Be aware that oral injuries can bleed quite heavily, but if you apply pressure to the area, or your child gently bites down on some gauze, the bleeding should slow within a few minutes.
You can have your child take over-the-counter medication like Tylenol or Motrin, following the dosage instructions carefully, to help with pain and inflammation. Applying an ice pack externally to the cheek near the affected area can also help to temporarily numb the site and reduce swelling.
Make sure you contact our office right away so we can help you determine the severity of the situation and whether or not your child needs to be seen immediately.
Putting a knocked out tooth in milk, not water, can preserve the root while you head to your emergency appointment.
Knocked-out baby teeth are not usually replaced, even if they’re lost prematurely. If it’s a baby tooth, your child will need to come into our office to have their mouth examined and cleaned to prevent infection, and to get a “space maintainer.” This prosthetic will maintain the proper gap between their teeth, preventing the adjacent teeth from shifting toward the now-empty socket.
For an adult tooth, though, you need to get help immediately. Recover the tooth, rinse it, and put it in a container of cold milk to keep it moist. Then, come to our office immediately. Don't spend too much time treating pain or bleeding. Your child’s tooth must be re-attached within 1-2 hours for it to be saved, so time is of the essence. We can treat your child’s pain when they get to our office.
A severe toothache could indicate that your child has a deep cavity or an infected tooth. You should schedule a consultation at our office right away, as these are both serious dental emergencies that will only get worse without proper treatment.
First, treat their discomfort and bleeding. Then, contact our team to discuss the need for a same-day appointment. Even minor tooth damage can cause hairline fractures and these fractures could lead to infections and other complications. After consulting with our kids dentist in Modesto, CA, we can determine the best treatment for restoring the damaged tooth, and ensure your child’s smile remains healthy and strong.
If a baby tooth has come loose and it’s not due to an oral injury, you don’t have to do anything. Baby teeth are meant to fall out eventually, so this is natural.
However, if one of their teeth becomes loose and is bleeding after an oral injury, it may not be ready to fall out yet. The best thing to do is to get a consultation with our Modesto children's dentist to have your child's mouth examined, and determine whether the tooth can be saved or if it should be replaced with a space maintainer.
Losing a baby tooth too early can be a dental emergency.