What are you supposed to do when your child comes to you and tells you that they have a toothache? While occasional toothaches are normal and can be treated with painkillers and warm water, if they happen on a regular basis there might be something more sinister going on.
As a parent, you naturally only want the best for your child. If they have experienced recurring toothaches then you need to get them seen by a dentist or a doctor. The medical professional you do hire needs to be one with a wealth of experience. This post will tell you everything else you need to do:
Dental Care
As mentioned in the introduction to this post, a dentist’s attention is probably what your child needs if they are experiencing frequent or severe toothache. If your child’s toothache is severe then take them to an emergency pediatric dentist immediately as there could be something very serious going on. To select a dentist you first need to conduct an internet search and then read reviews. A dentist’s review can help you to decide whether working with them is a good idea or not. Remember some dental professionals do not have reviews and that is not necessarily a bad thing. An absence of reviews only suggests that nobody has anything negative to say (which for obvious reasons can actually be a very good sign and can suggest a dentist can be trusted).
Using Painkillers
Once you have been to the dentist and ruled out anything serious, your child’s dentist will recommend that they begin taking painkillers. The painkillers that they take will likely not be anything strong enough to cause drowsiness or intoxication. That being said, depending on your child’s age their dentist might advise that they take something like codeine. If you do plan on giving your child a powerful painkiller then you must get their dentist’s approval first. Under no circumstances should you ever give your child prescription-strength painkillers without consulting a medical professional first.
Doing so is one of the worst things you can do because you could accidentally overdose them. Overdoses on prescription painkillers can result in serious complications in young people and even in older ones too. As for other drugs like paracetamol only administer them to your child in the quantities recommended on the pack of the product packaging.
Identifying Cause
Finally, if your child is experiencing frequent toothaches you need to try and get to the bottom of what is causing them. To do that there are a few different things you can do, but going back to dentists, the best is to take them to a medical professional. Guessing what is causing your child’s toothache is a bad idea. A dentist will be able to diagnose them right away and get to the bottom of whatever is going wrong. Make sure the dentist you hire is qualified and experienced and most importantly of all, has a good reputation.
Toothaches can be a nightmare. If your child is experiencing them then you will no doubt want to find out what is going on as soon as possible. You can do that by following this post’s guidance and taking them to a dentist.