Preventing Injuries to Your Child's Mouth

As a parent, you want to keep your child safe, but you learn that injuries can happen in a moment. Children can injure their mouths when they fall or trip. They can also injure their mouths when they climb on furniture or run with something in their mouth.

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Tips for preventing injuries to your child’s mouth:

• Use safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs.
• Put safety locks or latches on cabinets and drawers.
• Cover sharp corners. 
• Keep one hand on your child while he is on a changing table.
• When feeding your child, put her in a high chair or booster seat. Remember to buckle the seatbelt.
• Always buckle your child into the car seat in the back seat of a car or truck.
• Pick up toys and keep floors clear so children don’t trip and fall.
• Make sure rugs have nonskid pads or backing.
• Watch your child when he is on high places, like playground equipment.
• Put your baby in a front pack while shopping. Or put your child in the shopping cart and use a safety belt. Don’t leave your child alone or out of reach in a shopping cart.
• Don’t let your child walk or run with anything in her mouth, like sippy cups, popsicles, or toys.

In case of emergency, call your child’s dental or medical clinic right away. If you can’t reach them, take your child to the emergency room. Give your child’s dental and medical clinic phone numbers to others who take care of your child.

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Last Updated: November 9, 2022