When children are active, parents always dread the accidents that seem inevitable. When they do happen, knowing how to handle it can mean the difference between saving or losing your child's tooth. Parents should always be prepared for any kind of emergency that can happen whether through a sports activity or simply by your child being their usual active self.

In order to be prepared, the WDA offers the following tips for how to handle some common dental emergencies:

• Knocked-out tooth - It is important to retrieve a knocked out tooth, hold it by its crown, and rinse off the root of the tooth if it's dirty. Do not touch the root; the root is usually darker than the crown. Do not scrub it or remove any attached tissue fragments. If possible, put the tooth back in its socket. The mouth is usually numb after that kind of trauma, so it will not hurt to put the tooth back into the socket. It is the safest place to transport the tooth, even if the dentist has to remove it and replace it again. Contact lens saline solution is not a good transport medium. If that isn't possible or the child is too young to keep it there, put the tooth in a container with cold milk or cold water (not contact lens saline solution) and contact your dentist immediately.
• Broken tooth - Rinse the child's mouth with warm water to keep the area clean. Use cold compresses on the area to keep the swelling down and get the child to the dentist's office quickly. Bring the tooth fragment with you.
• Bitten lip or tongue - Clean the area gently with a cloth and then apply cold compresses to reduce the swelling. If the bleeding doesn't stop, take your child to a hospital emergency room immediately.
• Objects caught between the teeth - Try to gently remove the object with dental floss and avoid cutting the gums. Do not use a sharp instrument. If you are not successful in removing the object, take the child to the dentist.

It also is wise to know ahead of time what arrangements your child's dentist has for handling emergencies that occur outside of office hours. Does the dentist have an answering service or paging service? Many dentists arrange for a colleague or a referral source to aid their patients when they themselves are unavailable.