What to Do If Your Child Has a Toothache
When your child is in pain, you want to fix it for them immediately. If they complain of a toothache, in particular, one thing you can do to help right away is contact the pediatric dental team at Kid Grins to find out exactly what’s going on with your little one’s teeth and get a solution as quickly as possible.
If your child needs emergency dental care right now, call (952) 592-3400.
Possible Causes of Your Child’s Toothache
Teeth can hurt for many reasons. For kids, the most likely causes of minor pain are a loose tooth or erupting tooth, normal occurrences through childhood that irritate teeth and gum tissue. Other types of toothaches, though, can become dental emergencies that demand immediate attention.
You don’t have to make the diagnosis – rely on your pediatric dentist to tell you what’s happening with your child’s oral health. Here are the most likely causes of childhood toothaches.
- Tooth decay. Bacteria overload and poor brushing techniques combine to eat away at tooth enamel and, once the cavity is big enough, cause serious pain.
- Broken tooth. Damage, cracks, and chips may not be visible to a parent or child, but your dentist will know immediately why there is tooth sensitivity.
- Stuck food pieces. From chips to candies, any hard or sharp food can lodge between teeth or in the gums and cause what feels like a serious toothache.
- Infected gums. Yes, even kids can get early gum disease – gingivitis – which leads to painful, tender gums that can feel like a toothache.
- Impacted wisdom teeth. Teens are the likeliest candidates for severe toothaches caused by impacted or erupting wisdom teeth.
- Abscess. A pus-filled bump on your child’s gum is called an abscess, and it can cause incredible pain, from toothaches to jaw pain, tenderness to body chills.
Solutions When Your Child Has a Toothache
Again, the smartest move you can make when your child has a toothache is visit your pediatric dentist for a diagnosis and treatment. Trying to correct an oral health problem at home could turn the situation far more serious and cause your child additional discomfort. Any of the following treatments eliminate pain and restore good oral health.
- Tooth-colored filling. Baby tooth or adult tooth, when your child has a cavity or damage, a targeted filling corrects the unsightliness and eliminates the toothache.
- Extraction. Your pediatric dentist tries to avoid extraction and allow teeth to do their thing, but sometimes there is no other way to preserve oral health. Measures are taken to ensure proper alignment continues.
- Root canal therapy. When tooth decay reaches the root of a tooth and pain is extreme, it’s necessary to remove the affected pulp, seal the canals, and cover the tooth with a crown to protect it.
- Dental crown. Crowns are used when a large filling is too big to fix a tooth problem, covering the entire tooth like a cap.
Prevent Toothaches for Your Child in Edina, MN
Children need dental care beyond teeth cleanings, checkups, sealants, and visits from the Tooth Fairy. Problems can and do occur for children, and if you rely on the knowledge and advice of your pediatric dentist Dr. Mitchell Loeb, there is always a solution to repair a problematic tooth and make toothache pain stop right away.
If your child comes to you complaining of a toothache, look at their mouth to check for redness, swollen gums, cracks, chips, abscess, bad breath, difficulty eating, or any other obvious problems. Then contact us to discuss what’s going on and find out if your child needs an appointment right away to preserve their oral health. Dental problems do not go away on their own, even for kids. We are here to help.
