Toddler fell on face: How to stop mouth bleeding

Your toddler fell on his face, ending up with a bloody mouth. What should you do?

Bleeding is common after mouth and face injuries because of cuts to the soft tissues. Most of the time, they are superficial nicks, shares Dr Rashid Tahir, a specialist paediatric dentist at The Kids Dentist.

But when the blood mixes with saliva, resulting in what looks like a lot of blood, it makes the wound seem worse than it is. However, there are rare instances where the wounds are deep and may require stitches.

The best way to stop bleeding is to use a clean towel to apply continuous pressure for 10 minutes.

Time yourself - do not keep removing the pressure. Check only after 10 minutes. 

Don't use tissue because the paper may have to be teased off the cut areas, which may start the bleeding again.

Don't rinse away the blood - this is the worst thing to do because it will prevent the blood from clotting.

Any mouth and face trauma should be examined by a dentist. Three types of tooth injuries could have happened, Dr Tahir says.

TOOTH AND ROOT FRACTURES

Such fractures may expose the nerves, and cause the tooth to be wobbly and painful when chewing.

Worse, the upper part of the tooth may be dislodged and cause a choking hazard to children below three years old. An X-ray may be required.

TOOTH DISPLACEMENT INJURIES

Most mouth injuries can cause the teeth to become wobbly or, in severe cases, fall out. In this case, it can be a choking hazard.

SOFT TISSUE INJURIES

He may be suffering from pain caused by mild bruising to lacerations in the soft tissues, like lips or gums.

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Injuries to primary teeth can cause infections that may harm the child. They may even disturb the development of the underlying forming adult teeth and will require long-term follow-up to check on those teeth.

"I remember a young girl who injured herself in an accident and suffered bad cuts on her gums. Amazingly, there were no tooth fractures and the parents didn't think it was important enough to see a dentist," Dr Tahir shares.

"A few days later, the lacerated soft tissues got infected. She ended up with facial swelling and fever as a result of the complication of the injury.

"By the time I saw her, she had developed a bad infection. The poor girl then had to be admitted to the hospital for intravenous antibiotics for the infection.

"I encourage parents to bring their child in for examination with a dentist after an injury, so that the child gets proper medical care."

This article was first published in Young Parents.