Before you suffer a dental emergency, learn what your emergency dentist would want you to know. This allows you to better handle the situation while you are waiting to get to the dental office.
Do you have the name and number of an emergency dentist on file? If you do not,
you should, because dental emergencies can happen at any time to people of any age. And, while you are looking up that number and tucking it away in your wallet or purse, take some time to learn what dentists wish you knew about dental emergencies.
First, some things are emergencies, and some things are not. Chipped, broken, and knocked out teeth all constitute emergencies. So do partially dislodged teeth, known as extruded teeth in the industry. A lost filling, lost crown, or mild toothache is probably not a job for an emergency dentist, unless you have extreme pain.
If your tooth is broken, your emergency dentist would love to see you keep the pieces that have broken off. Rinse them, and then get to the dental office as quickly as possible. Similarly, if you have a tooth that is knocked completely out of the mouth, you need to get to the dentist quickly, but you also need to do some immediate first aid. Hold the tooth by the crown, not the root, and rinse it if it has gotten dirty, but do not try to remove any fragments of tissue. If you can gently put the tooth back in place, do so. Otherwise, put it in milk in a sealed container, and get yourself to the dental office within an hour of the accident. The tooth may be able to be saved, but only if you follow these instructions.
If you find yourself dealing with extreme tooth pain, check first to make sure there is nothing lodged between your teeth or underneath the gum line. If you see an object or piece of food, carefully try to remove it using a toothpick or dental floss. If this does not help, then you need to visit the dental office to have it removed.
Sometimes extreme tooth pain can be caused by a broken or chipped tooth. If you do not see anything lodged in your teeth, look carefully to see if the tooth is damaged. Follow the instructions for damaged teeth if it is. Outside of these two problems, you will need to seek the help of a dental professional to determine what the cause of the tooth pain is. The extent of your pain will dictate whether or not you need to visit the emergency dentist.
Your teeth are not the only things you can injure, though. If you injure any of the soft tissues in the mouth, including the gums, lips, tongue, or cheeks, you may need to seek professional help. If you do suffer an injury, rinse your mouth with a salt water mix. Most of the time you can control bleeding and pain on your own, but any bleeding that does not stop with the use of gauze and pressure after 15 to 20 minutes needs to be addressed by an emergency dentist or medical professional at the ER.
