Understanding Dental Trauma
First and foremost, we always encourage parents to ensure that their child is stable. If the injury was significant, please have your child assessed by a physician to rule out concussion or more serious head trauma. Things to consider:
- Did your child lose consciousness or blackout?
- Does your child feel nauseous? Did your child vomit at the time of the accident?
- Is there large bruising on the face or around the eyes?
- Is your child acting strangely?
If the answer is yes to any of these questions, it is best to seek emergency care at the local hospital, and this may include an ambulance ride. On rare occasions, parents have brought their child to the dental office when the first stop should have been the emergency room. We always say – fix heads before teeth.
What does dental trauma look like?
- Soft tissue injury or lacerations
- Tooth is pushed in
- Tooth is pushed sideways
- Tooth is completely knocked out
- Tooth is chipped
- Tooth is broken in half into the pulp – see pink
