Trauma to the Tooth and Mouth Need Attention from a Specialist Even for Children

Some types of injuries to the tooth will be experienced by approximately 50 percent of children. Many injuries are entirely preventable and some of them are common as well. Injuries to the tooth and mouth occur when children fall, get injured in a sporting activity, fight, or motor-vehicle accidents.

Tooth and mouth injuries are not life-threatening and rarely does a child develop serious complications but injuries to the mouth and teeth can have a lasting effect on the appearance of the child. In such cases, parents will do well to seek medical attention from trauma management in Houston, TX, to have the injury of the child evaluated.

What Are The Common Causes for Tooth and Mouth Injuries?

Sports-related injuries, fights, and falls are among the most common causes of tooth injury in children. Injuries to the mouth can also occur when a child trips or is pushed when he or she has an object in the mouth.

Evaluating the Injury

Many parents are confused about whether their child needs medical attention after a mouth or dental injury. Children that are exhibiting any of the following symptoms must be evaluated by a healthcare provider. The particular circumstances will determine whether the evaluation can be done over the telephone, at the pediatrician’s office or in the office of a pediatric dentist or even in the emergency room at a hospital. The symptoms are mentioned below:

• The child complains of pain, sensitivity to temperatures and tenderness.
• After the trauma, a missing tooth, loose tooth or a broken tooth may have been swallowed by the child.
• If bleeding is observed and does not stop even after applying pressure for about 10 minutes.
• The child is exhibiting pain when opening or closing the mouth.
• Difficulties with breathing and swallowing.
• If an object is stuck in the cheek, tongue, throat, or the roof of the mouth without attempting to remove the object.
• If the parent is concerned about the condition of the child.
• If the child develops a fever and displays other signs of infections after a mouth or tooth injury.

The symptoms mentioned above indicate that the child has suffered trauma and will need an expert evaluation from trauma management in Houston, TX.

What Can Be Expected At the Commerce Center?

The medical history of the child will be requested by the trauma center that will also conduct a physical examination. The parent or the child should attempt to describe how the injury occurred. If there are any reasons to believe the child suffered the injury because of the intentional actions of another adult or child the information should be provided to the clinician.

The clinician will examine the mouth of the child as well as the throat, head, neck, and body during the physical examination.

Some children will need an imaging test in the form of CT scans, MRI or x-rays. The imaging test can help the clinician to determine whether bones have been fractured, blood vessels have been damaged, or whether the child has swallowed a piece of the tooth. Not all children with a dental or mouth injury will need an imaging test.

The Treatment Children Receive for Dental Trauma

The treatment for dental injuries will be determined on the type of injury and whether the injured tooth is primary or permanent.

Parents are often confused about whether the injury is to the child’s primary or permanent tooth without realizing that permanent teeth do not erupt until the age of six or seven. Moreover, primary teeth have a different appearance than permanent teeth.

The most common type of injury to the primary teeth is a dislocation of the front teeth. Any treatment provided to these injuries focuses on preventing additional damage to the permanent teeth. A loose primary tooth may be left in place or even extracted if it is interfering with the bite. Many cases have been observed where loose teeth have healed without treatments.

The clinicians at the trauma center are qualified and experienced to manage all kinds of trauma experienced by the child. The treatment provided will depend upon the seriousness of the injury and the time within which the clinician was contacted for the treatment.

Being scared or confused about whether the child needs treatment or not is not an option available to parents. They should rather educate themselves about the symptoms mentioned in this discussion and contact trauma management at Houston, TX, as soon as possible for the benefit of the child.