Children can tend to injure their teeth from falls or during play or sports activities. The injury may be to a baby tooth or an adult tooth. A tooth may become cracked, chipped, or totally removed from its socket. Your child may have bleeding from the area, pain, or increased sensitivity when a tooth is injured.

So as a care taker initially how do you handle such situation,

In general, the following guidelines can help you manage the situation.

• Remain calm and reassure your child that you can help.
• If the area is bleeding, place a small piece of folded gauze at the site and have your child bite down or hold it in place with firm pressure.
• Offer your child cool water or an ice pop to suck on to help reduce swelling and pain.
• If a tooth is chipped or cracked, collect all the pieces of the tooth. Make sure any part of tooth is not imbedded in the lips, tongue, or gums.
• Contact your child’s pediatric dentist for further follow-up and care. Sharp or ragged tooth edges may need to be smoothed, and further treatment may be needed to preserve the tooth.
• A loose tooth may need to be stabilized. A badly injured tooth or loose tooth that cannot be realigned may need to be removed.
• Offer your child cool water or an ice pop to suck on to help reduce swelling and pain.
• Hold the tooth by the crown (top of the tooth), not by the root (bottom of the tooth). Plug up the sink to prevent losing the tooth down the drain and gently rinse the tooth with milk (do not scrub the tooth or use tap water as it contains chlorine and may injure the tooth). Milk is similar to the chemical makeup of teeth. You can also have your child spit saliva into cup and store the teeth in it.
• Contact your child’s pediatric dentist immediately for further follow-up and care.

If other injury to the mouth or teeth is suspected, X-rays of the area may be needed.

So how do you prevent tooth injuries …???

• Teach your child not to walk or run while holding an object in his or her mouth.
• Teach your child not to suck or chew on hard, sharp, or pointed objects.
• Have your child wear a mouth guard for sports activities that could result in injury.

Contact us @ 9791035666 for more information or walk-in to get your doubts clarified from our experts

Dr. Roshan Rayen and Dr. Hariharan on trauma management.

Almost 8 out of 10 parents would have faced this challenge of thumb sucking with
their own children.
Until 4 years, thumb sucking is considered as a normal habit. However, if your child
thumb suck beyond 4 years then you might have to take advice from your pediatric
dentist.

Consequences of thumb sucking,

*Protruding Front teeth *

When sucking their thumb, children often press their thumb against the part of the
gum where their incisors emerge. Over time, this continuous pressure pushes the
front teeth forward when they grow. Protruding front teeth are aesthetically
unappealing and may make your child feel insecure about their appearance.

Open Bite

This means the two sets of teeth don’t touch even when your child shuts their mouth.
It also causes irregular chewing pattern and discomfort.

Increases Vulnerability to Mouth Ulcers

Children that suck their thumbs are more likely to develop mouth ulcers. Mouth
ulcers can make a child avoid tooth brushing because it’s painful.

Promotes Mouth Breathing

When children suck their thumb during bedtime, then they fall asleep, they’ll likely
sleep with their mouths open. This makes them breathe through their mouths instead
of their noses. Mouth breathing can be dangerous because it introduces harmful
pathogens that can harm the teeth and gums.

Increases Risks of Infections

One of the significant problems associated with thumb-sucking is the spread of
bacteria and infection into a child’s body, weakening the immune system to fight
against the bacteria and germs affecting oral and overall health.

Misalignment of Jaw and Teeth

The most negative side-effect of thumb-sucking is to cause misalignment of a child’s
teeth and even jaw.

*Sensitivity Issue in The Mouth *

Another risk associated with thumb-sucking is damaging the nerves of the gum and
teeth, creating sensitivity around the mouth and teeth with a hot and cold
temperature contact such as hot tea, cold drinks, soup, etc.

All these consequences are preventable and treatable, if identified and assisted at
the right age.

For more doubts on thumb sucking, walk-in to KidznTeenz and our experts would
help you in the best way possible.

Nail biting is a common behavior among kids and affects an estimated 50% of children between ages 10-18. Similar to thumb sucking, it’s often a way to self-soothe and manage feelings of anxiety. Unfortunately, it can also lead to oral health problems if it continues for too long.

The Consequences of Nail Biting

Children who chronically or aggressively bite their nails may develop any of the following problems:

• Chips or fractures – Over time, nail biting can weaken the protective layer of enamel and make the teeth more prone to chips.
• Gum problems – A child’s gum tissue is susceptible to cuts and lacerations.
• Chipped or damaged dental work – Brackets and wires from braces or tooth-colored fillings on the front teeth may be damaged.

How Can a Pediatric Dentist Help With Nail Biting?

Just like any comforting or soothing habit, nail biting can be difficult to give up. Again, it’s helpful to start by talking to a pediatric dentist at your child’s next checkup. They may recommend any of the following strategies:

• First and foremost, be patient and don’t shame or punish your child to “make them” stop nail biting. This is usually ineffective and can damage their self-esteem and self-worth.
• Focus on positive reinforcement such as verbal praise when you see them resisting the urge to bite their nails.
• Feelings of fear and anxiety often contribute to this habit. Giving your child extra comfort or seeking out therapy may address the root cause.
• There are also some safe but bitter-tasting liquids from the store that make nail biting less appealing.

When it comes to keeping your child’s smile healthy, prevention is always preferable to treatment. If they can overcome nail biting, they’ll avoid many oral health problems altogether!

Imagine this, summer vacation, football or some other “outdoorsy” sport, a fall and the result, a badly broken tooth.

A very common scenario in most of our households. Worried parents come to us, clutching the broken fragment and ask, “Can it be re-attached?” Our answer is, Yes.

• In the case of a simple fracture of the tooth’s crown (the portion that is seen outside), we can attempt to attach the same tooth fragment.
• If the fracture is very deep and has involved the nerves, a root canal therapy may be required. Still, the same fragment can be used to give more a natural, aesthetically pleasing appearance.

But what if the fracture involves the root (the portion inside the gum) as well?

In that case, it is termed as a complicated crown-root fracture. This too, may or may not involve the nerves.

• Taking an X-ray is a must to see the extent of fracture because, it cannot be predicted.
• Emergency treatment involves fixing a splint to reduce the mobility of the affected tooth- in the same way a general fracture is fixed.
• We can attempt to expose the fractured area by slightly cutting the gum and giving a crown after root canal treatment
• If the child is very young and there is no sufficient amount of root, we may have to modify the root canal treatment slightly and give a calcium rich material called MTA to seal the root.
• Maximum attempt is made to save the tooth. If the fracture is really very deep and most of the root is gone too, we may have to consider extraction. Of course, an artificial tooth will be given in place.

For more details, refer www.toothtrauma.in

What does crowding of teeth mean?

The condition basically means there is not enough space within the jaw for all the teeth to develop properly. Children usually have a considerable amount of space between their teeth as a normal phenomenon so that the developing adult teeth also develop properly.

Thus if your child’s teeth seem to be overcrowded and crooked due to lack of normal spacing within their teeth, it is a major concern to be corrected at their right age.

What will be the causes of crowding of teeth in your children?

1. Hereditary factors
2. Oral habits like thumb sucking, finger biting, tongue thrusting etc.

What are all the problems your child will face due to crowding of teeth?

1. It is not only just an aesthetic problem to your child
2. It makes your child more difficult to keep their teeth and gums clean
3. Dental caries
4. Gum disease
5. Makes chewing more difficult
6. Speech difficulties
7. Bad breath

Treatment options for crowded teeth…

A dentofacial orthodontist helps children to solve their crowded teeth problem.

They provide you orthodontic braces to deal with the crowded teeth and give your child a natural, more attractive smile and help them to develop healthy teeth, gums and bones.

We love giving your young kids new confidence.

Some of our kids treated for crowding and ended up with a confident smile!!!

Thumb sucking is one of the most common oral habits seen in children.

What is Thumb sucking?

Thumb sucking is forceful sucking of the thumb in children which will become an act out of repeated habit

Is Thumb sucking normal?

Thumb sucking is normal up to pre-school age i.e., till 2 years.

It becomes abnormal and creates problems to teeth and jaw if it persists beyond 2 years.

Why your child sucks their thumb?

Till 2 years of life your child performs thumb sucking due to various reasons like :

1. Hunger
2. Feeding problems
3. Teething, etc.

Beyond 2 years it may be due to :

1. Feeling of Insecurity
2. Desire to draw attention
3. Anxiety, fear

What you think will be the major causes of your child’s abnormal thumb sucking?

• Working Mother– A major cause in today’s metropolitan cities like Chennai, Mumbai etc. Children brought up in the hands of caretaker may have feelings of insecurity that makes the child to suck their thumb.

Other causes include:

1. Increased number of siblings at home
2. Late order of birth at home
3. Low socioeconomic status

What you can notice if your child is thumb sucking for long years?

Thumb and other fingers:

1. Reddened
2. Clean chapped
3. Short finger nail

Lips:

1. Short upper lip
2. Your child will not able to close lips at rest.

Teeth:

1. Upper front teeth will be forwardly placed
2. Front teeth bite of the child will be opened

What will be the effect of thumb sucking?

1. Since the upper front teeth are forwardly placed. It is more common for your child to get teeth injury during play.
2. Poor esthetic appearance while smiling.

How to prevent?

Since the major reason lies in psychological insecurity for the child, it is very important to provide a close emotional union between mother and the baby by proper breast feeding activities, spending ample amount of time with them and child’s engagement in various activities like sports.

Treatment considerations:

1. Use of physiological nipple
2. Applying neem oil, Asafetida over the digits
3. Use of Elastic bandages , long-sleeve night gown

Parental counseling and motivation to child to stop the habit are always better provided by the pediatric dentist you visit.

He / she will also provide habit breaking appliances based on the extent of habit.

We are responsible for your child’s better smile!

One of our kid underwent treatment and ended in everlasting happy smile!!!