Emergency management of oral trauma in children

Oral trauma continues to be a common pediatric emergency, accounting for 150 emergency room dental consultations per year at Children's Hospital in Boston. Children between the ages of 18 months and 2.5 years and between 8 and 11 years are most at risk. Recent advances in the management of these dental emergencies may help children and their families avoid the psychological and financial cost of infection or loss of primary and permanent teeth. Treatment of avulsions in the young permanent dentition remains a common problem, and a universally accepted approach to its management is still evolving. The use of a doxycycline immersion prior to reimplantation by the dentist may be helpful in preventing external root resorption. As always, the best therapy against dentofacial trauma is the pediatrician's support of preventive measures.