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Emergency!
Bleeding from the mouth after an injury. This page explains what to do first, what not to do, and what a dentist may do. If there is a lot of bleeding, call 911.
Press clean gauze or cloth firmly on the bleeding spot and keep pressing for 10 minutes without lifting it to check. Call 911 if there is a lot of bleeding or blood pulsing out, if your child has trouble breathing, swallowing, or opening and closing the mouth, or if your child is not waking up or acting normally. If the bleeding has not slowed after 15 minutes of steady pressure, get medical care right away.
Stay calm and check your child. Look for where the blood is coming from, and look for other injuries too, especially to the head, teeth and lips.
Please avoid these things:
Bleeding after an injury to the mouth may come from the gum around a tooth, from a cut to the lip, cheek or tongue, or from both at once. The mouth has a rich blood supply, which is why bleeding here can appear more dramatic than the size of the injury.
If the injury was dirty, for example from the ground, a tetanus booster may be needed. If you are not sure whether your child is up to date, see a doctor within 48 hours.
The AAPD describes initial care for orofacial trauma as focusing on pain control, hemorrhage control, wound cleansing, accounting for missing teeth, and confirmation of tetanus immunity. Where soft tissue is involved it states that injuries may require debridement and primary closure.
Assessment will normally cover both the soft tissue and any teeth involved, since the two commonly occur together. If a tooth or fragment cannot be accounted for, the AAPD states radiographs are required to rule out aspiration or its presence in surrounding tissue.
Mouths bleed a lot even when the hurt is small, because there are lots of tiny blood pipes in there. It looks worse than it usually is. A grown-up will help you.
How much bleeding is too much? Call 911 if there is a lot of bleeding or blood is pulsing out. Get medical care if 15 minutes of steady pressure has not slowed the bleeding. A web page cannot judge your child, so if you are worried, call your dentist or doctor.
Not always. Mouths bleed easily, so a small cut can look dramatic. What matters is how much blood there is and whether it slows with steady pressure. Press for 10 minutes without checking. Call 911 for a lot of bleeding, blood pulsing out, or if your child is not acting normally, and get medical care if it keeps going after 15 minutes of pressure.
Say so immediately when you contact anyone. The AAPD notes that bleeding risk may be affected by medical conditions, and that safe treatment requires a thorough medical history. Ask before giving any pain reliever: the AAPD notes that NSAIDs such as ibuprofen may prolong bleeding time.
No. Bleeding after an injury is different from gums that bleed during brushing, which has its own causes. For the latter see Bleeding gums.
The first-aid steps follow the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) HealthyChildren pages below. The dentist section comes from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) document in the list. The advice to add more gauze on top, to call the dentist the same day, and the wording of the do-not list are general safety wording based on these sources.
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This website is for education only and does not replace care from your dentist, physician, or emergency services.