What to do in a Dental Emergency?
Whether at home, playing a sport, or at work, experiencing a dental emergency can be overwhelming and painful.
At Premier Smiles, we care for all our dental emergency patients as soon as possible. We focus on maintaining and saving the health of your natural teeth. While the likelihood of saving the tooth is better when seeking professional care within two to three hours of the incident, you can do a few things at home to improve your response to emergencies.
Here are a few common dental emergencies and options for treatment if you cannot see the dentist right away.
Toothaches and Pain
Many patients visit the dentist when feeling persistent, severe dental pain. This is often a sign of infection. Our dentists can determine the cause of the pain, whether that is an untreated cavity, a third molar not properly coming in, or even a broken tooth.
If you cannot see the dentist right away, here are a few steps you can do at home. First, wash your mouth with warm, clean water to clear out any irritants such as left-over food. If you find a single tooth in pain, gently floss and remove any debris. Take Tylenol or another type of pain relief if the pain is too much to manage.
Chipped Teeth
Using your teeth to open a bag of chips or chewing on something hard can damage your teeth, even resulting in chips. This damage to the enamel can allow bacteria to enter the dental chamber and infect the dental pulp.
The infection causes major pain and discomfort and affects the health of the tooth. Our dentist can seal these cracks and chips with a crown to rebuild the structure of the tooth.
Remove any left-over debris by rinsing the area with water. Cool water can ease pain you might feel. You can also apply dental cement to the area to keep it from cutting your lips; this can be purchased at any local pharmacy.
Knocked Out Teeth
When a tooth is knocked out, depending on the extent of the damage, you could place it back in the socket. However, if there is any debris or part of the tooth that has been damaged, seek the treatment of a dentist for the best possible way to save the tooth. Keep the tooth in saliva, milk, or a tooth preservation product approved by the ADA till you can visit the dentist.
Contact Premier Smiles if you are experiencing a dental emergency.