Toddler With A Chipped Tooth: Care, Conditions, And Treatment

Learning to walk and run brings specific challenges to your toddler, and their teeth can often become a casualty of war. It's not uncommon for toddlers to chip their teeth as they fall due to lack of coordination, and as a parent, you might be worried about what to do. Chipped teeth can vary in seriousness. As soon as you notice the chip, examine it more closely. Take notice of:

• The size of the chip - Large chips are more serious, while smaller ones may be superficial. Large chips may be a dental emergency because they open your child's tooth up for infection, but small chips may not need any intervention. If the chip is small, make an appointment with your dentist to have it looked at, just to make sure that it doesn't need filled. If the chip is large, take your child to a dentist right away.
• Your child's pain level - If your child did not even notice the tooth was chipped, this is a good sign. Larger dental trauma is much more painful and can indicate the severity of the injury.
• Whether or not there is blood - Sometimes, a chipped tooth can be sharp enough to cut the inside of the mouth. A dentist will need to file and shape the chip to make it safe. 

After your child has seen the dentist, at-home care is the next most important aspect of maintaining excellent tooth health. If the chip was filled, be sure to brush the area well to prevent cavities from forming near the filled area. If the chip was too small or superficial to warrant a filling, clean the tooth thoroughly every day. Even though it was not filled (some dentists may wait until a child is old enough to sit for a filling if the chip is not serious), it still represents a "chink" in the enamel that could be a weak point for dental caries.

The other thing you'll need to watch for is the development of an abscess. Sometimes, that blunt force trauma that chipped the tooth can cause a tooth to slowly die. This process can take months. After the root of the tooth deadens, the body begins to attack the tooth as a foreign body and the area becomes infection. Abscess infection can spread through the gums, jawbone, and even into the brain, so they must be taken seriously. Sign of abscess in toddlers include:

• severe facial swelling. The two front top teeth are often the most commonly injured, and swelling for abscess in this area would cause the lip to look almost duck-like. 
• intense pain (your child may wake from discomfort). Your child may also complain that his nose, cheek, or tongue is hurting instead of complaining about tooth pain, just because they may have trouble placing the pain source with a limited vocabulary. 
• high fever.
• discoloration of the affected tooth.
• bleeding in the mouth. 

If you notice any of the symptoms above after your child has chipped a tooth, contact your dentist (like those at Dino Kids DDS). 

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