A Bother Free Bounce: 5 Ways to Protect Your Child's Teeth on Bouncy Castles and Trampolines

Dentist Blog

Bouncy castles and trampolines are a great source of exercise and entertainment for children. However, according to insurer Direct Line, bouncy castles and trampolines cause more injuries to children than many other forms of activity, such as climbing trees, climbing frames and going down slides. While injuries vary, one of the most common injuries to occur on bouncy castles and trampolines is tooth trauma resulting in tooth loss.

Dental injuries not only impact the quality of your child's life but also hit you hard in the wallet as replacing one or more teeth can be expensive.

By taking the following precautions, you can ensure that your child is safe from dental trauma whilst bouncing to their heart's content.

Check the Safety Measures of Public Play Zones

While visiting kid's events and parties, check that the organisers are safety conscious before allowing your child onto a trampoline or bouncy castle.  Check that bouncy castles are properly secured and that the surrounding ground has sufficient padding. Furthermore, if you notice that staff members are allowing older, larger children to bounce aggressively among younger and smaller children, it is probably not a good idea to let your child participate due to the risk of collisions.

Teach Your Kids How to Bounce Safely

Children should know how to bounce safely before going on a trampoline or bouncy castle. Teach your child to bend their knees slightly when landing to cushion the impact and also to keep their arms close to their sides as they bounce around.

Provide Them with Safety Gear

Though it is not a common sight on bouncy castles, have your children wear knee and elbow pads, helmets and mouth guards to protect their teeth and body from injury.

Allow Only One at a Time on Trampolines

If using a trampoline in your backyard, ensure that an adult is around to supervise and make sure that only one child uses the trampoline at a time. Collisions can knock teeth out and cause a variety of other injuries too.

Don't Mix Big with Little on Bouncy Castles

Big children jumping on a bouncy castle amongst smaller children is a recipe for trauma, dental and otherwise. If you have organised a party and have included a bouncy castle, make sure to separate the younger, smaller children from the older children.

Options for Replacing Knocked Out Teeth

Adults have the option of replacing missing teeth with dental implants, which consist of a titanium screw, an abutment and a crown. However, children under the age of fifteen cannot have dental implants because their jawbone is still growing, and inserting a dental implant into growing bone could hinder bone growth. If a child's jawbone doesn't grow adequately, it could prevent the formation and eruption of a child's permanent teeth.

Therefore, for younger children whose permanent teeth have yet to erupt, a dentist can use a space maintainer to keep the surrounding teeth from moving into the space where the tooth was knocked out. Older children or teens can use a partial denture to replace a missing tooth until they are old enough to get a dental implant.

As long as you make sure your children are adequately protected while bouncing on a trampoline or bouncy castle, you can keep accidents to a minimum. If your child knocks a tooth but the tooth doesn't fall out, there is still a chance it may fall out later if the tooth is badly damaged internally. In this case, booking a dental appointment is the wisest course of action.  

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22 March 2017

Dental Emergencies and Kids

As a mother, I've seen my kids' faces light up after they've lost a tooth – oh, the excitement they feel about getting their grown up teeth! However, I've also seen my kids become extremely scared and anxious after having an adult tooth knocked out. If you're a mom or a dad with a busy kid, chances are you might see a tooth knocked out in a skateboarding accident or a sport pile-up. This blog is dedicated to those moments when you could lose your wits, and it's here to ensure you don't. I am collecting and curating the best information about kids and dental emergencies here so that you will have it when you need it. Best of luck with your kids' smiles!