Babies and children go through cycles of teething and losing their baby to make room for their permanent adult teeth. Children can start to lose baby teeth from the age of 4-7 years old. Each child is different and will get teeth and lose teeth at different times and visiting the dentist regularly will help you ensure that everything is healthy and normal. 

Losing Baby Teeth

Most children are excited about losing their first tooth, but as a parent, you may not know how to proceed when your child loses a tooth or is worried about losing their teeth. Here are some tips from our dental office and pediatric specialists to help best prepare your children for when they begin to lose their baby teeth. 

1- Dispel Fears Of Pain

Some children worry about the pain that could come from losing teeth. When a baby tooth is ready to come out, it should naturally fall out on its own and shouldn’t be painful. If a child pulls out a tooth too soon or is knocked out, it can cause some pain. When a child is afraid to pull their own teeth or scared about the pain it could cause, you can apply a topical anesthetic to help numb some of the pain, or consult your dentist about the best way to proceed. 

Pulling teeth and putting them under their pillow for the tooth fairy can be fun for children. This can help them overcome the fear of missing teeth or the pain that comes with pulling teeth. 

2- Don’t Pull Out A Loose Tooth Unless It Is Ready

Your child will lose baby teeth at the appropriate time and teeth can loosen for other reasons besides making way for adult teeth. Just because baby teeth are loose, doesn’t mean they are quite ready to leave your child’s mouth. Using floss and slamming the door or jostling the teeth too much can actually cause pain in your child’s gums or cause excessive bleeding. If bleeding or unbearable pain comes after pulling a baby tooth, contact your dentist. 

3- Make Oral Health A Habit Now

When new adult teeth start to come in, it is important to tell your kids to focus on their oral health because the new teeth are ones they will have forever. After losing baby teeth proper brushing and flossing are still important to prevent infections or cavities. 

Right after losing a tooth, your child will want to avoid scrubbing or flossing the sensitive area for a few days. But you should not neglect your other teeth just because there is a gap. Showing a routine of brushing, flossing, rinsing, using fluoride, and scheduling regular checkups at the dentist now can help your children protect their adult teeth through their teen and adult years. 

4- Pieces Of Tissue Left Behind

After losing baby teeth, some children will have a flap of tissue left behind. It is important to leave healthy tissue alone and not rip or pull this tissue away from your child’s gums. Removing this tissue can be painful and is just unnecessary. The tissue will often just fall off or wear down on its own. If it is bothersome to your child, you can take them to the dentist and consult the dentist for help. 

5- Gaps Are Normal When Losing Baby Teeth

Missing teeth can be a source of self-consciousness and can affect children’s speech for a temporary time. Some children really struggle when they have gaps in their teeth and may even be bullied. Losing teeth is normal and each child will have to go through it. Helping children understand that each child will lose teeth at different times and gaps in their teeth are only temporary can help ease the transition to adult teeth. 

6- Have Topical Anesthetics And Anti-Inflammatory On Hand

Some children are very sensitive to pain and may want some help before losing teeth to manage their anxiety around pain. Having a topical anesthetic can relieve some initial pain that comes after a tooth has fallen out and is a fast and easy way to relieve this. If a loose tooth is bothering them or hurts to wiggle, ibuprofen or Tylenol can help relieve some discomfort. 

After a tooth has been removed, your child may have a swollen socket from wiggling beforehand. Anti-inflammatories can help reduce swelling, but if it persists contact your dentist. 

Our Pediatric Dentists At Eric Felt D.D.S.

Dr. Eric Felt has been practicing for over 31 years and has helped patients of all ages. Whether it is advice about baby teeth, filling cavities, or improving your bite, our team can help give you and your family better smiles.

Our dental office in Cottonwood Heights is airy, light, and friendly to help patients feel safe and comfortable. With the stunning Utah scenery outside our office and our soothing environment inside our office, we hope this will help your dental experience be more pleasant. Dr. Eric Felt works hard to do what is right for his patients. Our team wants to help you improve your oral health and enjoy your daily activities. 

Toothaches are one of the most annoying and painful problems that your mouth can experience. It can be tempting to just shrug off a toothache and hope that it will get better on its own, but unfortunately, that is not always the case. It is important to get your toothache checked out if certain signs appear. Continue reading to learn more about toothaches, what causes them, and what you can do to avoid and/or treat them.

Symptoms Of Toothaches

Firstly, it is important to identify what a toothache feels like and what could cause those symptoms. The name toothache is a pretty clear description of its main symptom: pain. This can range from a sharp pain every once and a while to a throbbing pain that is constant. Other symptoms of a toothache can include swelling around the tooth, bad breath, fevers, and headaches.

What Causes Toothaches?

There is a wide variety of potential causes of toothaches including simply eating or chewing something wrong to a tooth fracture. Eating a piece of popcorn wrong or not brushing your teeth often enough, leading to tooth decay, are two other potential causes of toothaches. An improperly completed dental filling, repetitive clenching or grinding of teeth, or infected gums may also be to blame for toothaches. A sports injury may also be to blame for tooth pain. Consider getting a mouth guard to help avoid oral health problems when playing sports and/or to minimize tooth grinding at night.

How To Avoid Toothaches

The best way to avoid a toothache is to make sure to practice proper oral hygiene. Brush your teeth morning and night, floss once a day, and use mouthwash. Also, make sure to go to your regularly scheduled dental appointments so that your teeth can be properly cleaned. Also, make sure to drink water and/or brush your teeth after eating in order to avoid food getting stuck in your teeth. Sometimes despite your best efforts, you may still end up getting toothaches. If you get a bad toothache, you may want to see your dentist to determine what the best course of action would be.

Signs You Need To Get Your Toothache Checked Out

Now that you understand better why toothaches can occur and how to identify them, it is important to understand when you should see a dentist. Some toothaches will subside on their own, while others can get worse, causing much worse problems including tooth decay. Signs that you should get your toothache checked out as soon as possible include:

1. Your toothache has persisted for more than a couple of days.
2. Pain medication has done little to decrease your pain or your pain has only worsened.
3. Your jaw or cheeks have become swollen and/or your gums are overly red.
4. There is a sudden putrid taste in your mouth or you have very bad breath.
5. Sensitivity to heat and cold and pain when biting down.

Do You Need To Get Your Toothache Checked Out?

If you have been experiencing symptoms of a severe toothache or are wanting to avoid future toothaches, you should consider reaching out to us here at Eric Felt Dental. Our dentist is experienced and knowledgeable about toothaches and other oral health problems and will be able to help you find a suitable solution for your particular dental issue. We not only provide comprehensive dental care services, but we also provide specialized services for individual problems, including toothaches. We also provide emergency dental extractions and other urgent dental services. So if you are in need of quick and efficient dental care, feel free to reach out to us at Eric Felt Dental today.

TMJ Disorders

TMJ disorders can cause people inexplicable amounts of pain and seemingly come out of nowhere. The TMJ (temporomandibular joint) is the junction between your jaw and your head that connects them. A variety of different problems can cause pain in this joint. There are also several ways that TMJ disorders can be treated. Your dentist or a TMJ specialist are the best people to speak to if you suspect that you have a TMJ disorder. Continue reading to learn more about TMJ, the symptoms and causes of TMJ disorders, and the treatment options that are available.

Symptoms Of TMJ Disorders

The temporomandibular joint is basically the hinge for your face that allows you to open your mouth, speak, laugh, yawn, and chew. If something happens to this hinge, then there can be several symptoms that an individual can experience. Common symptoms of a TMJ disorder include:

• Inflammation in your jaw
• Tenderness or pain in your temporomandibular joint
• Pain in or around your ear
• Headaches
• A clicking sensation in your temporomandibular joint
• Locking of your jaw
• Inability to open or close your mouth
• Facial aches

There can be mild and severe cases of TMJ dysfunction that must be treated in different ways. Make sure to speak with your dentist and/or doctor if your symptoms become difficult to manage, worsen, or if you begin to experience new symptoms.

What Causes TMJ Disorders?

It is frequently difficult to ascertain the exact cause of an individual’s TMJ disorder. But there are several common causes that could be to blame. A blow to the jaw or the side of the head can cause swelling in the TMJ and/or damage the joint. Cartilage and disks are located in the temporomandibular joint which allows you to smoothly and easily use your jaw. If these parts are damaged by arthritis, bruxism, or stress, then you could experience a lot of pain. Lastly, some people are simply more predisposed to get TMJ disorders than others due to genetics.

Treatment Options

There are many different treatments available for TMJ issues. Many times, discomfort caused by TMJ will go away on its own. Typically symptoms will decrease within three weeks. Dentists will typically recommend taking pain medication and using ice packs to relieve inflammation. Some joint exercises might also be helpful. However, if TMJ problems were caused by arthritis or bruxism, pain can stick around for much longer than a few weeks. That is when physical therapy and jaw exercises become vital. You may also want to invest in a mouth guard to use at night that will keep your teeth from grinding together during the night and help your mouth relax.

Do You Need A New Dentist?

If you have been experiencing problems with your temporomandibular joint, then it is important to see a dentist as soon as possible. Our dentist, Eric Felt, is a professional and experienced dentist who can help you learn more about your TMJ and can suggest potential routes you could take to help improve your condition. We offer comprehensive dental care options here at Eric Felt Dental and our team is eager to help you with any dental problem that you may have. Feel free to reach out to us today for more information.

To learn more about the temporomandibular joint and TMJ disorders, feel free to read here.