What should parents do when their children have dental trauma? | Start with "teeth"

As the saying goes, good teeth mean a good appetite.

Children in the growth and development period need healthier teeth

Remember the following jingle to prevent your teeth from being laid off prematurely

Sportswear and protective gear should be prepared to prevent injuries.

Chasing and fighting should be avoided as the risk of tooth injury is low.

Don't panic if you encounter an injury, seek medical attention promptly to avoid damage to your health.

1. Dental trauma in children is very harmful

Dental trauma in children refers to situations where teeth suffer emergency trauma, especially damage caused by blows or impacts. It is the second largest oral disease causing chipped or missing teeth in children, second only to caries.

Children are in the process of growth and development, their mental development is not yet mature, their awareness of danger is weak, their coordination ability is insufficient, they are lively and active, and they like to explore new things. They are prone to collisions and falls during sports or play, which may lead to dental trauma. Trauma to deciduous teeth is often manifested as changes in tooth position, while trauma to permanent teeth is often manifested as tooth fracture. According to the 2020 clinical guidelines of the International Society of Dental Trauma, 25% of school-age children have a history of dental trauma.

Trauma to deciduous teeth may directly damage the permanent tooth germ underneath, affecting the development and normal eruption of the successor permanent teeth, causing permanent tooth malformation and changes in the eruption direction. Children who suffer dental trauma are mostly young permanent teeth of school-age children. Once trauma occurs, it will have an adverse effect on the child's chewing function, occlusion, aesthetics, and growth and development. Therefore, it is very important to actively prevent dental trauma. Parents should help children avoid dental trauma as much as possible in daily life.

2. Take good protection to avoid trauma

1. When participating in sports activities and games, it is best to wear sportswear and non-slip sports shoes with rubber soles to prevent falls and wrestling. When engaging in high-speed, high-risk sports such as skateboarding, roller skating, skating, or strong confrontation sports such as basketball, protective equipment such as helmets and protective mouthpieces should be worn to reduce the risk of tooth injury.

2. When watching basketball, football and other games, keep a safe distance from the court to avoid being hit by the ball. If you cannot avoid it, you should cover your head with your arms to avoid being hit directly in the face by the ball.

3. In daily life, try not to chase or play, especially in dangerous and narrow places such as stairs and corridors. When playing, do not throw stones, broken bricks and other dangerous objects at each other. When riding in public transportation, you should fasten your seat belt. When riding a bicycle or motorcycle, you should wear a helmet.

3. Proper treatment of dental trauma

1. If dental trauma occurs, even if there is no obvious pain, you should go to the hospital for examination as soon as possible and have a dentist determine the specific condition of the injured tooth.

2. If a tooth is broken due to trauma, you can keep the broken tooth fragments, rinse them with running water and soak them in clean water. Do not discard the broken tooth fragments, and find the nearest hospital as soon as possible to let the dentist treat it. The doctor will take different emergency treatment methods according to the situation of tooth trauma and facial injury.

3. If the newly erupted young permanent tooth is completely dislocated, the time when the tooth is reset to the alveolar socket and the preservation method of the dislocated tooth are very important for the prognosis of the traumatized tooth. The dislocated tooth should be found as soon as possible, and the crown part of the tooth should be pinched with the hand to rinse off the dirt on the surface of the tooth with running water. Do not touch the root of the tooth with your hand, and put the clean traumatized tooth back to the alveolar socket as much as possible.

If the tooth cannot be immediately replaced due to pain or trauma, soak it in fresh cold milk or saline. See a doctor as soon as possible. The earlier the tooth is replanted, repositioned and fixed, the better the prognosis. Completely detached deciduous teeth should not be replanted.

author:

Zou Jing, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, West China Hospital of Stomatology

Chinese Stomatological Association manuscript review: Yue Lin, expert of the National Health Science Expert Database and professor of Peking University School of Stomatology