Active children can often be prone to mild injuries such as a fall or blow to the face that affects the lips or tongue. These can fall under the category of oral emergency, and Dr. Ahmad J Akram and our team can help you know what to do, as well as whether you should visit the emergency room for treatment. If your child has an injured lip or tongue, we invite you to follow the steps below to keep the situation under control.
First, you can clear away any blood from a hurt lip by using a wet washcloth and gently cleaning the area. This allows you to assess how severe the injury may be. A lukewarm saltwater rinse can be used to remove blood or debris from your child’s mouth and help soothe irritation in the mouth tissues. If the bleeding has not stopped, you can cover the wound with sterile gauze and keep the pressure on the lip.
If your child’s mouth injury starts to swell, you can treat the swelling with a cold compress that rests on the outer lip. An impromptu cold compress can be created by packing ice into a zip-top bag and covering it with a washcloth, and then your child can cover the injury with the cold compress for about 15 to 20 minutes at a time.
If your child has a bitten tongue and the bleeding is persistent, you can use a few layers of gauze to cover the wound and then instruct your child to keep their tongue pressed to the roof of their mouth to create pressure and stem the bleeding. Keep an eye on your child so that they don’t swallow lots of blood and develop an upset stomach.
To learn more about how to treat a child’s dental emergency in Humble, Texas, you are welcome to contact Lonestar Dental Center at 281-233-0333 today for a visit with our dentist.