While dentists handle patients with regular dental visits. And scheduled appointments, they are also capable of handling immediate dental emergencies.
Dental injuries can be scary when you’re not sure what is an emergency and what you can take care of at home.
What are the common dental emergencies?
It’s important to know what an emergency is in dental terms. Conditions like plaque or tartar or bad breath aren’t dire issues. Dental emergencies are conditions that may need immediate care to fix. And irreparable over time.
Below is a guide outlining some of the most common dental injuries and emergencies. And what you can do at home, before you visit us.
Many common dental emergencies and injuries respond well when treated immediately. Hence it is important to set up an appointment as soon as possible.
Cracked Tooth
Whether it’s a fall on the floor or a slip. And it’s the front teeth that bear the brunt of most of these injuries.
For this type of injury, we recommend you rinse your mouth with warm water to clean up the area. Then apply a balm to the face to keep down any swelling that might occur.
Abscessed Tooth
This is the result of waiting too long to deal with a problem. An abscess forms a pocket inside the tooth of infected material. Which can spread throughout the gums, affecting other teeth and parts of the mouth.
Get it dealt with soon. You can mitigate some of the effects with warm saltwater rinses. But getting rid of it for good requires a procedure.
Cut or Bitten Tongue, Lip or Cheek
Yeah, that hurts. We’ve all done it. Bitten down hard on something or a bump in the road causes us to bite our tongue, cheek, or lip. Most times it’s no big deal but know that the mouth tends to bleed a lot – that’s normal.
Knocked-out Tooth
Whether it’s a sports injury, an accident, or horsing around. In primary (aka baby teeth) try to find the tooth to bring to our office. In most cases, if a baby tooth gets knocked out it’s not an emergency but call us to make sure. We would take an x-ray to make sure the whole tooth has come out. Also, you don’t have to try to replant the tooth; primary teeth cannot get replanted.
Permanent teeth are a different story. Recover the tooth if it’s knocked out and don’t touch the roots, holding it by the crown (top) of the tooth. Rinse off the tooth and try to replant it, meaning try to put it back into the socket.
If it can’t get replanted or you don’t want to try, put it in a glass of milk (not water) and call our office ASAP. We will attempt to replant a permanent tooth unless the damage to the tooth has been too great. It’s important to get to us right away and not let the tooth dry out.
Bad Toothache
Toothaches are very common and are usually caused by some underlying conditions. Like a cavity, an oral ulcer, an abscess, gum issues, a loose tooth, or even something stuck between the teeth.
Rinse out the mouth or floss to dislodge anything stuck between their teeth. This is sometimes the case and can get relieved. Problem solved!
Tooth Sensitivity
If you are sensitive to hot or cold food. This could also be the symptom of some other condition like a tooth injury or cavity. In this case, schedule a visit and we will examine them to find out the cause.
Something Stuck Between Teeth
Getting something stuck between teeth is a common and painful occurrence. Use floss or rinse to try to remove whatever is stuck. Do not use any sharp or pointed instrument to remove a stuck object. Call us right away if you can’t seem to remove it.
Lost or Loose Fillings
A lost filling can cause pain because it exposes the unprotected tooth underneath. Bacteria can get into the area leading to further tooth decay. We will need to replace the filling as soon as possible – call us!
Dental Concussion
Concusses are a tooth that gets knocked around but not knocked out. This can lead to a tooth becoming discolored – turning dark or black – meaning that the tooth is dying. While not a critical emergency it’s good to give us a call to schedule an evaluation.
Broken or Fractured Jaw
This type of injury is much more serious and usually requires immediate dental care. You also need to be very careful. For jaw injuries, tie a scarf around the head if needed. You can apply balm to the area to reduce swelling as well.
So, what can you do?
Injuries are scary and it would be in the best interest to be at the clinic often for check-ups. This will help in getting familiar with your dentist. So you can trust each other to cooperate during emergencies.
In an emergency, trust your gut.
But for most other dental issues, call us at +2347086179156 or visit our contact us page. We can help assess the situation and determine if an emergency visit would help.
Stay safe out there!
