Most of us hope never to be faced with having to deal with a dental emergency, but they can and do happen, no matter how good your oral care routine.
If a dental problem does arise then it’s important to take action as ignoring it could result in the need for more costly and invasive treatment at a later date, and it could even mean that you lose the tooth.
What are the most common dental emergencies and how to handle them?
Toothache
Most people will suffer toothache at some point during their lifetime, and sometimes it can be due to something as simple as having a piece of food wedged in between your teeth.
Believe it or not this could be sufficient to move the tooth out of position causing pain.
First of all try gently flossing around the tooth to see if this helps, and rinse your mouth with warm water. If you have any swelling, then try applying a cold compress to the outside of your mouth to help relieve it. You can also take over-the-counter painkillers to deal with the discomfort, but you should never put anything like aspirin or any other type of painkiller directly on your gums as you could harm the gum tissue.
Dental Emergency? Make an appointment to visit the Cosmetic Dentistry Center as soon as you can for a proper diagnosis. It’s important to do this even if you’re toothache seems to disappear as it could be due to an infected tooth, and the infection cannot clear up without dental treatment.
Knocked Out or Avulsed Tooth
If you’re unfortunate enough to knock out a tooth then it’s important to take action very quickly. In general reinsertion is only really successful is carried out within the first half an hour to an hour after the accident. Make sure you handle the tooth by its crown and rinse off any dirt you can see. You can try reinserting it, taking care to make sure it’s facing the right direction, or alternatively bring it to us in a small container of water or milk.
Chipped or Cracked Teeth
If you chip or crack a tooth then rinse your mouth to get rid of any broken pieces. Make an appointment to come and see us as soon as you can as it’s important to mend teeth before bacteria in your mouth can get into the tooth, causing infection and decay.
Lost Filling or Crown
It’s possible to buy temporary cement from your local drugstore, and if you feel confident enough and then try to cement the crown back into position making sure you don’t swallow it. You can also use the cement to form a temporary filling, or in a real emergency situation try a small piece of sugar-free gum. Make an appointment to come and see us as soon as you can so we can try to re-cement the crown if possible. Whatever you do, don’t use glue to try to stick it back in position yourself as you’ll damage the crown and your tooth.
If you do have a dental emergency then it’s best to contact the Cosmetic Dentistry Center for advice and an appointment. We are open until 7 PM on Mondays and Wednesdays and until 6 PM on the remaining weekdays. We also have every other Saturday so you have a good chance of getting seen promptly.
While some dental emergencies can’t be avoided you can lessen the risk through having regular preventative dental care as this will help reduce your chances of developing toothache or having an infected tooth. If you play sports, then having a custom-made mouthguard could help prevent cracked and chipped teeth, and will help lessen the risks of having a tooth completely knocked out.
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