A dental emergency is generally defined as a severe toothache, a chipped or broken tooth, or if a crown, veneer or bridge breaks off, or if a tooth is knocked out completely. It is important to take the right action during a dental emergency as they can have a lasting impact on the health of your teeth. When trauma or pain is ignored, you may need costly repair treatment and you could be compromising the health of your tooth or possibly your other teeth. There are a few things that you should avoid during a dental emergency, often times you could be slow to act, but you want to avoid these common mistakes when faced with tooth pain.
CALL ON US AS SOON AS THE EMERGENCY OCCURS
The very first thing you should do is of course not to ignore the emergency – pain is a natural mechanism to tell you something is wrong. Don’t opt for just choosing a pain killer rather than coming to our office or calling us to see when we can squeeze you in. Taking a painkiller will only mask the symptoms and won’t get to the cause of the pain. The longer you avoid going the worse the infection can become and spread and do even further damage.
Do not turn to the internet for tooth pain home remedies, even though it sounds like a really good idea. There are suggestions for just about everything, but rest assured – again, tooth pain is often a sign of a dental emergency at the very least it certainly is a signal that something isn’t right inside your mouth with your teeth and your gums. The only way to essentially deal with the situation is to call our office so we can then give you the best advice on a course of treatment that will be best for you and the health of your tooth.
HANDLING A BROKEN TOOTH PROPERLY
Perhaps the most serious mistake is not handling things correctly if a tooth gets knocked out. This is probably the most immediate and serious dental emergency. The mistake is that the assumption is made that the tooth cannot be saved, but if handled immediately and correctly a tooth probably can be saved. In order to try and save the tooth – take a hold of the white part of the tooth that sticks out normally.
Then do your best to try and clean the tooth either with your saliva or by licking the tooth or even running it under cold water for a few seconds if possible. Lastly, try and put the tooth back where it came from. If it doesn’t just go back in with ease, then try doing so with a little milk or saliva. If your tooth has been knocked out if you have it put back or you don’t still do your best to visit our office immediately so we can secure the tooth back in place while it heals and ensure that it has been placed correctly.
