Dental Emergencies Need Immediate Attention
Damaged teeth require your immediate attention. If you neglect your damaged tooth, you run the risk of suffering from permanent damage to your teeth. Neglecting your teeth when they need to be treated can result in major complications down the line. It’s absolutely crucial to maintain your dental health, so we encourage you to contact us immediately so that we can help you assess the situation and take preventive actions that mitigate the risk of dental damage.
Emergency Dentistry
Do you know which dentist is nearest to you? Finding the right dentist who is responsive and reliable is a key component of a good dental health plan. This is because when a dental emergency arises, it’s important that you’re able to get treatment in a short timeframe. If you don’t get treatment when you need it, you may end up losing your teeth or suffer from the spread of an infection. There are a few key actions that you can perform to reduce the chances of complications.
What should I know about dental emergencies?
It’s quite normal for people to panic about dental emergencies, especially as an adult. After all, when you’re an adult, you only have that one pair of teeth. As frightening as it may be, or as hopeless as you it may feel, the truth is that with prompt action, dental emergencies can ben controlled and prevented from escalating into a severe medical emergency. Whether you’ve chipped your tooth or are bleeding from losing a tooth, take immediate action and contact us so that we can assess your emergency and provide you with appropriate action.
What should I do if I have a dental emergency?
If you act quickly and take preventive measures to protect your teeth from the impact of a dental emergencies, you can mitigate the negative impacts of the injury. Even though the emergencies aren't life-threatening, we do recommend that you take care of the incident promptly with our tips below. You may end up suffering from complications if you neglect to maintain your dental health.
In the event that you’ve cracked your tooth, we strongly suggest that you rinse your mouth with water to keep it clean. Once you’ve done that, you may choose to apply a cold compress until you can come to our office to be treated by one of our dental emergency specialists.
If you’re experiencing intense pain, it could be a sign that your tooth is rotting. The most common source of pain comes from the molar. If you do experience pain, it’s indicative of an infection. The first step would be to prevent the infection from spreading throughout your body. That means that you will need to come in to the office so that our dental doctor can prescribe you antibiotic medication. During your visit, we will determine if you do indeed require medication and prescribe it as needed. Following that, it’s common for patients to need to schedule a root canal procedure.
If you’ve lost your tooth and still have it in your possession, there are a few steps you can take to try to retain your natural tooth instead of getting one implanted. First, you can try to gently push the tooth back in its place before contacting our office for further advisement. If the tooth doesn’t stay in place, we suggest that you preserve your tooth by placing it in milk or other approved product. Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to seek treatment without delay. If you want to increase your chances of re-implanting your tooth without any complications, then urgency is needed. The more time that passes before you get treatment, the lower the likelihood that we can help you reimplant your natural tooth.
Has your child lost his or her tooth? Many parents are alarmed if this is the first time that they’ve seen their child lose their tooth. But don’t worry, your child won’t suffer any long-term effects form losing their tooth. That’s because their teeth aren’t permanent yet. Soon enough, mature teeth will be taking its place. When your child loses his or her tooth, there is typically some degree of bleeding where the tooth fell out. By applying a bit of pressure with a sterile cloth (you can use something like gauze), you can control the bleeding. Don’t press too hard. A moderate amount of pressure will do. Maintain that pressure on the empty spot in the gums and wait for the bleeding to stop. After the bleeding stops, dispose of the gauze. Then contact our office. We’ll schedule an appointment for you to bring your child for an exam to check up on their dental health.
Are you experiencing pain? You may experience pain for a number of reasons, including fractures and cracks in the teeth. Thankfully, there is relief. If you’re experiencing pain, you’ll be happy to know that there are over-the-counter medications that will help relieve the pain. We suggest that you go to your nearby pharmacy and ask for either Orajel or acetaminophen. Orajel is a an oral local anesthetic. It can be applied directly to the painful area. Acetaminophen, which is also known as Tylenol, helps reduce pain. These two OTC medications are effective choices because they act quickly. It’s also convenient because they’re widely available in most major pharmacies.
If you’re experiencing swelling in your gums or jaw, we recommend using a cold compress, which you can make using ice or any frozen solid that’s wrapped in a towel. But before you apply the compress, go to the bathroom and look at your gums. You are going to want to remove any food or debris in or around your gums. But be very careful when you remove it. Please do not use any sharp or pointed objects to remove the food. This will put you at risk of further injury, complicating the issue. Instead, try using floss or a very soft toothbrush to dislodge the food.
Experiencing a dental emergency can be problematic if it’s not taken care of promptly. For the sake of your health, we strongly recommend that you contact us as soon as you can. It’s vital that you receive treatment without delay. The sooner our dental doctors provide you with the proper treatment, the greater your chances of restoring your dental health.
What can I do to avoid dental emergencies?
Avoiding injuries or accidents is a matter of being careful and cautious. Most dental emergencies can be prevented by being aware of the conditions that put your teeth at risk in the first place.
When you’re playing sports, practicing martial arts, wrestling, or conducting any vigorous physical activity, you can wear a mouthguard. This will protect your mouth and teeth from impacts.
Don’t use your teeth to bite open plastic bags or open bottles. This may cause your tooth to chip.
To prevent damaging the protective layer of your teeth, called enamel, try not to bite down on hard surfaces like ice, hard candy, or popcorn kernels. If you do, do so gently and with care.