Everything You Need To Know About Handling Dental Emergencies
by Lonnie Bryant
Dental emergencies can occur at any time and will often vary in severity. When such emergencies occur, knowing what to do can mean the difference between losing your tooth and saving it. In addition, since emergencies can crop up at any time, you will want to have some precautionary measures in place. Here is what you need to know about handling dental emergencies.
How Urgent Is The Dental Injury?
Some cases will require immediate attention while others can be less urgent. Knowing the difference is important, especially when the emergency occurs at a time when most dental offices may be closed, such as at night. Examples of injuries that may call for immediate attention include painful toothache, injured jaw, bleeding that won't stop, painful swelling, and knocked-out permanent tooth. A knocked-out tooth should be handled as soon as possible because unless re-implanted within a very short time, it may not remain viable. See an emergency dentist immediately.
On the other hand, less urgent dental injuries include dull toothache, damaged or broken night guard or retainer, lost bridge, filling or crown, cracked or broken tooth, and loosened teeth. While less urgent, these injuries will still require dentist care. In addition, if the cracked or broken tooth is causing severe pain, you should consider it urgent as well.
How Can You Handle The Injury?
Until you can see your dentist, there are a few things you can do to ease the pain as well as try to save your tooth. Rinsing your mouth with warm water and using dental floss for the removal of any lodged food will work well to reduce any swelling and relieve any irritation. A cold compress can also reduce the swelling, bleeding, and numb irritation, and all you need to do is hold it to your cheek. Avoid the use of aspirin on your sore tooth or against the gums because it may burn your gum tissue.
Injuries to the soft tissues such as lips, tongue, and gums, can easily result in bleeding. For this reason, rinsing your mouth with a salt solution and holding a damp piece of teabag or gauze to the injured area can help with the bleeding. For lost filling, you can stick sugarless gum into the remaining cavity. Sugar-filled gum may cause irritation or pain.
How Can You Prevent Such Emergencies?
To ensure that you don't experience the same in future, schedule frequent hygiene visits with your dentist. You should also complete any dental treatment recommended by your dentist since dental problems can get worse with time. Avoiding using your teeth to bottle tops or cut stuff. Last, go easy on chewy and tough foods such as hard candy and pretzels.
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About Me
There are more than two ways to straighten a smile, and in this blog, I plan to discuss them all. I plan to look at the differences between braces and retainers and explain why sometimes you may need them both. I look at the differences in cost, time commitment and efficacy. Personally, I have had a bit of experience with this subject – I had braces as a young teen, and I had a permanent retainer. In this blog, I discuss what I have learned, and I present all kinds of new information on the topic. Whether you are trying to make decisions for yourself or your child. I hope you find this information useful.