IT is a common belief that a home is made up of its occupants, not its furnishings or other interior features.
Everybody believes that homes are safe places, and when you are away from home, you feel uneasy, because there is nowhere that can match the cosiness and warmth of a home.
Ironically, most of the dental damages to primary or milk teeth occur at home, according to global statistics.
Why is this so? Is it because we underestimate some injuries our children suffer and think they are unimportant until permanent teeth erupt, only to discover that we should have gone to the dentist sooner?
Falling is the most frequent cause of such injuries.
Young children are more likely than adults to fall, which is why they sustain these severe injuries.
It is very unfortunate that they cannot speak for themselves that their only option is to cry uncontrollably for help until their parents determine where the source of the problem lies.
Parents find it considerably difficult to identify the cause of the issue.
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Although falling is inevitable, parents remain responsible for their children’s wellbeing hence it is necessary to know how to manage situations like these given that it is to occur.
A child is subjected to traumatic events from birth, which can cause injuries ranging in severity from minor issues to life-threatening situations, depending on the severity of the impact.
Up to 30% of girls and 40% of boys suffer severe dental trauma by the time they are five years old.
Primary tooth injuries are mostly encountered around the ages between two and four when children are still developing their mobility skills, hence parents should take absolute care around this age. In addition to falling dental injuries can be caused by other factors.
For example, in a car accident, when the car is abruptly stopped as emergency brakes are applied, unrestrained children sitting or standing frequently collide with the dashboard or other surfaces of the vehicle’s interior resulting in dental injury.
Dental trauma is also more common in children with long-term seizure disorders.
For trauma protection, these high-risk children often wear protective headgear and have protective mouth guards made for them.
Various forms of child abuse, often disregarded, are also a major factor contributing to tooth damage in young children.
Types of dental injuries
Depending on the kind of tissue involved, tooth fractures can be categorised. For example, the damage may affect the root, the crown (the white portion that is visible) or both.
The dentin (the second layer of teeth), the pulp or just the enamel (the tooth’s outermost layer) may be affected by crown fractures.
The most difficult and complex injuries are those that affect the pulp, which houses blood vessels and nerves.
Additionally, injuries may be categorised based on the manner in which the tooth moves, such as luxation (displacement).
These tooth movements are the most prevalent kinds of primary tooth injuries that are addressed in dental offices.
These dental injuries can damage the bone that holds the teeth in place as well as the supporting tissues of the teeth (the periodontal ligament).
The main goal in treating any luxation injury is to preserve the supporting tissues’ health.
Luxation injuries come in a variety of forms
A concussion: The tooth remains stationary; however, the periodontal ligament absorbs the damage and gets inflamed, during chewing the patient feels slight discomfort.
Subluxation: This is when a tooth becomes loose but does not fall out of its socket.
Management: Subluxation injuries and concussions are regarded as minor injuries that frequently go undiscovered until perhaps the parents visit the dentist and remember the event after a complication has arisen, such as tooth discolouration.
This complication may arise from any damage or stimulation that extends to the pulp.
A soft diet for a short period and good oral hygiene to avoid contamination are the only treatments needed.
In any case, one should attend the dentist’s office for safety.
Intrusion: The tooth is forced into its socket, thus it looks shorter than the adjacent teeth. This is one of the most challenging injuries to milk teeth.
Management: It is possible to allow intruded incisors to re-erupt naturally after the injury has occurred, if doing so does not endanger the permanent teeth.
Though it might be postponed for more than six months, re-eruption generally begins in two to three weeks.
The teeth frequently emerge into a rotated alignment rather than returning to their original position to avoid this outcome before it is too late, parents’ ought to head straight to the dentist’s office.
Avulsion: The tooth falls out of its socket entirely and is displaced.
Management: In 75% of the cases where primary front teeth have been avulsed, the dentist can replant them.
However, there is always a chance that this can harm the permanent teeth that are growing, which is why some dentists do not advise doing so.
Parents should locate the lost tooth in case the child accidentally swallowed it.
It is crucial that parents avoid attempting to replace the tooth on their own in order to prevent harm to the permanent teeth.
It is advised that parents clean their child’s teeth with milk rather than water once it has been extracted from its socket if they plan on saving the tooth for replantation.
Cleaning the tooth with water may remove viable supporting tissues that will still be attached to the avulsed tooth.
For better treatment, it is crucial to know the benefits and drawbacks of any chosen course of therapy.
Untreated children are more likely to suffer long-term consequences of these injuries such as gingival recession, which can expose the tooth's root leading to increased tooth sensitivity; tooth discolouration from pulp necrosis due to mechanical damage from the impact of the trauma; pathological root destruction; early tooth loss and/or damage to subsequent teeth.
Prevention is better than cure, hence it is important to visit the dentist’s office as soon as your child suffers any injury.
- Patience Matambo is a final year BSc Dental Surgery student at the People’s Friendship University of Russia. She can be reached at patiencedental2024@gmail.com
