Knowing what to do in a dental emergency is important to save your teeth and treat the cause. Any dental problem that needs immediate dental treatment to alleviate serious pain, stop bleeding, or save a tooth or deal with any life-threatening infection is considered a dental emergency. Most commonly seen emergencies in a dental hospital setting are -
Persistent toothache :
Throbbing or aching pain that wakes you up in the middle of the night or pain that is sudden and unexplainable needs the immediate attention of a dentist. Pain is a signal that something is wrong with your body. Contact your dentist immediately to identify the cause and treat the pain. For toothaches, salt water rinses, cold compression applications, gentle dental flossing to remove any food caught between the teeth, or a simple over-the-counter analgesic may bring pain relief till you visit your dentist. Do not put aspirin on the aching tooth or gum tissues.
Missing Dental Fillings:
A missing dental filling is another potential dental emergency because your tooth is compromised and liable to easily break or chip without that reinforcement. A lost filling can even expose the nerves of the tooth, which can lead to a number of other dental issues like pain, inflammation, infection that require immediate treatment. If the filling is not attended to, and dentin exposed for very long, then a root canal or additional dental treatments may be necessary to save the tooth.
Broken or Crown that falls off:
Similar to the missing dental fillings a dental crown that breaks or falls off completely, leaves your tooth exposed and vulnerable to infection and damage. An emergency dental visit to your dentist is enough to replace the crown and avoid unnecessary and costly complications like a root canal, extraction, or other dental procedure.
Broken or fractured tooth:
The commonest causes of tooth fractures are aging teeth 50 years and older, biting on hard foods like ice, candy, habits like ice chewing, teeth grinding (bruxism), large dental fillings or a root canal weakening the tooth structure and trauma including falls, sports injuries, bike accidents, car accidents or physical violence. A broken tooth may hurt or feel sensitive, though some fractures are asymptomatic. For a fractured tooth, clean the area immediately with a warm water rinse and start cold compresses on the face to keep any swelling down. Schedule an appointment with a dentist right away. The chances of repairing a cracked tooth depend on how quickly it is treated.
Swelling of the jaw or mouth:
Schedule an emergency appointment with your dentist if your mouth or jaw suddenly becomes swollen without reason. Causes may be a severe infection in the teeth, irritation to your lymph nodes, or some other factor that needs to be evaluated and treated immediately.
Complications after a dental procedure:
Mild pain post-dental procedures like a root canal or extraction are to be expected but if pain persists even after a day or two, see your dentist immediately.
Post extraction bleeding normally subsides within 24-48 hours but if bleeding continues, an emergency dental visit can control the bleeding with suture placement in the socket.
Knocked out tooth:
When a tooth has been knocked out due to heavy impact or physical trauma, heavy bleeding may happen. If the knocked-out tooth is brought in immediately it may be possible for your dentist will be able to reinsert and preserve your tooth. Without touching the root, carefully rinse (without scrubbing) and reinsert the tooth in its socket. If you can't reinsert, place the tooth in between your cheek and gums, in milk, or use a tooth preservation product, and get to the dentist quickly to increase the chances of saving your tooth. This doesn't mean all teeth can be saved by simply reinserting back into the socket and may need other treatment too.
Broken Braces wires:
Braces are tough metal wires and brackets are designed to withstand forces of speaking,chewing, and eating. At times they can break or stick out and poke your cheeks and gums. Broken wire can cause extreme discomfort, and also slows or even reverse progress in aligning and straightening teeth. To prevent this schedule an emergency appointment with your Orthodontist.s
Meanwhile, try pushing the broken wire into a more comfortable position or if not possible, cover the exposed wire with orthodontic wax, a small cotton ball, or gauze. Never cut the wire to avoid the danger of swallowing.
Abscessed Tooth:
Infections in the mouth, especially near the root of a tooth or in the space between the teeth and gums, are serious if left untreated. The small pocket of pus can rapidly spread to the surrounding jaw and other tissues, and even the rest of the body requiring emergency treatment. It is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition. Patients may experience tooth sensitivity to cold and hot, high fever, tender lymph nodes in the neck, a consistent toothache, swollen face, and swelling on the gums near the affected tooth. To help reduce the pain and bring the pus to the surface frequent salt water rinses are recommended while you get to your emergency dental appointment.
Tips to avoid accident and injury to the teeth:
When there is a dental emergency, it's important to visit your dentist without further delay. At Smiline Dental Hospital, we have the expertise of 25 years+ to deal with any dental emergency. We always have reserved time in our daily schedules for any emergency care needed for our patients. Call us at Smiline dental hospital and give as much detail as possible to our receptionist to find you an immediate appointment with the relevant specialist dentist. If you have an after-office hours emergency, do contact our office and leave a message on our emergency dental care mobile # 88975 33399
We will contact you as soon as possible to attend to your emergency. We will help you to become pain-free again!
