What is dental trauma? How is it treated?

Traumatic dental injury is damage to the hard tissues of the teeth, the pulp tissues and the periodontal support tissues caused by acute trauma to the teeth, especially by blows or impacts. Babies around 2 years old have poor walking and motor coordination and are prone to dental trauma from falls, mostly to the upper front teeth. Traumatic injuries to baby teeth can easily affect the growth and development of inherited permanent teeth, so they need to be seen promptly to ensure the best possible outcome. If the trauma only causes fracture of the crown, pulp exposure or inflammatory growth, root canal treatment and crown repair can be considered; however, if the root is fractured or the tooth is prolapsed, the affected tooth may need to be extracted. It is important to note that some teeth may change color without sensation after minor trauma and the pulp may slowly necrotize, which may also affect the inherited permanent teeth and require timely detection and treatment. Unlike trauma to a baby tooth, trauma to a permanent tooth is more about preserving the tooth, and most replacement permanent teeth in children under 10 years of age have incomplete root development, making treatment more difficult. For a simple partial fracture of the crown, as long as the pulp is not injured, direct pulpal protection and repair or crown bonding can be considered; for a fractured crown with a large exposed pulp, if the root is fully developed, direct root canal treatment and restoration can be done; if the root is not fully developed, the decision to do live pulpotomy or apical induction molding should be made based on the time of visit and the section, and root canal treatment and restoration can be done after the root is fully developed. If the root is fractured, the tooth is loosened or dislodged, the affected tooth should be fixed by repositioning and ligating, and endodontic treatment should be performed at the same time. Traumatic tooth injury requires attention: 1, children playing and sports are best to have the necessary protection measures, sports protection cover is a good choice. 2, after the extraction of traumatic injuries to the baby teeth need to do movable denture type gap retainer, used to keep the gap of the missing teeth does not change, generally when the baby can cooperate with the removal of the denture made. Replacement permanent teeth eruption position and eruption time abnormal need to promptly consult. 3, permanent teeth trauma need to retain the fractured part of the tooth as far as possible, to facilitate the later aesthetic restoration of teeth. For some permanent teeth that cannot be preserved, they should be restored in time after extraction. 4, if the tooth is completely out of the socket, it should be cleaned as soon as possible and put back into the socket, contained in the bottom of the tongue or soaked in milk to seek medical attention, not wrapped in dry paper towels or soaked in water. 5, traumatic teeth need to avoid biting hard objects, if there is redness and swelling of the gums, tooth discoloration, to time not loosened and fallen off, etc. need to promptly seek medical advice. 6, regular review to facilitate timely detection of problems.