What Happens When a Loose Baby Tooth Cracks In Half

If you find any loose or cracked tooth in your kid’s mouth, don’t panic. Keep calm and evaluate the damage, then contact your dentist as soon as you can.

For the meantime, here are a few tips on how to care for that loose or cracked baby tooth.

Should I bring my kid to the dentist right away?

Bringing your kid to the dentist as soon as you can is the ideal thing to do. If that’s not possible, however, contacting your trusted dentist to ask what to do should suffice. Injuries to the head and neck can be quite serious, and therefore needs medical attention ASAP.

If your kid’s case is a true emergency, like if swelling or bruising is present, they could indicate internal injury. In such instances, call 911 right away.

A dental visit is a must if your kid’s tooth is loose, cracked, or chipped. Tooth damage may expose the nerve at the center of the tooth, causing your kid to experience pain and discomfort. If left untreated, the inside of the tooth may be exposed to lots of bacteria, eventually resulting in the tooth death and further damage to the surrounding structures.

Also, be sure to locate and keep any loose tooth or tooth fragment that you will find so the dentist can inspect it thoroughly.

Protecting your kid’s teeth

Although baby teeth will eventually fall off and be replaced by their permanent teeth. It is still a must to take care of these first set of teeth. Any premature damage must be managed accordingly, although more often than not, these damages are mild in nature.

To protect your kid’s teeth, we suggest child-proofing strategies like eating nutritious foods and keeping them away from sugary treats. And needless to say, proper oral hygiene and regular visits to your trusted, kid-friendly dentist is a must.

Looking for a great family dentist? Find a Kool Smiles partner dentist near you!

 

Sources:

KidsHealth.org: http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/head-injury.html

Cyberdentist: http://cyberdentist.blogspot.com/2010/03/broken-tooth.html

CareCredit: http://www.carecredit.com/