With summer time there’s lots of bike riding, swimming and other activities that fill the long days before school starts again and fall brings fewer daylight hours. Summer days may be long on fun, but that extra time outdoors, engaging in sports or other activities, means that summer dental emergencies are also common. How can parents prepare for the “just in case” circumstances that might happen?
Doctors, scientists and dentists have noticed certain common factors in summertime dental emergencies. Here are some tips from the Placerville Dental Group to help you avoid them:
- Everyone in the family should follow pool rules. Reports suggest that many dental emergencies are due to swimming injuries, especially around pools. So never dive into shallow water or run around the pool. Watch small children carefully as they are more prone to bump into pool edges and hurt their mouths by chipping a tooth or knocking one loose. Exercise extreme caution if you choose to perform diving stunts. Limit the number of people in a pool at any given time and always make certain that somebody responsible and capable watches over the pool to prevent accidents and injuries.
- Know what to do in a dental emergency. Check our page on dental emergencies and have our Placerville dentists’ phone number saved on your phone. In a dental emergency, use cold packs to reduce swelling, stem any blood flow with gauze or clean washcloths and if a tooth is knocked out, save it! If possible, gently put it back in the mouth or keep it in a container with a wet paper towel and bring it to us, with the patient.
- Have an emergency dental kit in the car and at home. Summer time means a lot of us are not in our normal routine. By keeping a kit in the car and at home, you’ll always be ready “just in case.”
- Mouthguards are a great idea for preventing dental injuries, especially when playing contact sports. They protect not only the teeth, but also the soft tissues of the mouth, like the tongue. The Placerville Dental Group provides customized mouthguards with a perfect fit that are far less annoying than the one-size-fits-all variety found in drugstores. Better fit leads to better compliance, meaning your child is more likely to wear it in the first place.
Remember that paying for prevention is better and cheaper than paying for cures, especially when it comes to dental health!
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