Dental Emergencies and What you Need to Do Next
Emergencies, in general, are dreadful, and dental emergencies fall nothing short of disasters. As it has been wisely said, “Remember when disaster strikes, the time to prepare has passed”. Why not prepare for dental emergencies beforehand?
We have listed below the most prominent dental emergencies and what you need to do when faced with one:
Tooth Root Fracture
Tooth roots can be fractured in treated roots. It takes great trauma to cause a fracture in tooth roots which may be due to accidents or sports injuries. A dental root fracture can be horizontal or vertical and requires urgent dental care, but you cannot see this from the outside. In case of low to medium pain inside the teeth after trauma, you must rush to the cosmetic dentist. Continuous dislodgement of a post or pain while chewing food might also be the symptoms of a root fracture.
Tooth or Gum Abscess
Abscesses are tiny sacs filled with pus caused by bacterial infections. These sacs can be present near the tooth roots or on gums. Abscesses cause extreme pain and do not heal on their own, so you need to see a dentist right away. It takes proper medications for a prescribed period to mend abscesses. If left untreated, the infection can spread to other teeth and neck regions. In extreme cases, abscesses may prove fatal for the patient.
Broken/Chipped/Cracked Tooth
Accidents may cause teeth to break or chip off. It can also be a result of chewing hard food such as nuts, hard candies or even ice. Chips at the edges of the teeth do not cause pain, but as the injury goes towards the roots, the pain increases. Small pieces of teeth lost can be replaced with dental fillings. In case of big chunks being broken, you need to get a dental crown. A cracked tooth is a bigger problem than breaking or chipping. It may cause you intense pain, and depending upon the severity of the crack, our dentist will decide the next course of action.
Knocked Out Tooth
Tooth knock out is a common scenario in contact sports and may also happen when a person falls and hits hard ground. If you experience this emergency, the first thing you need to do is to try and be calm. Find the knocked-out tooth if you can and hold it with the end, not the root side and preserve it by putting it in lukewarm milk. Dentists may be able to place the fallen tooth if possible. If the wound starts bleeding, try applying an ice pack on the cheek adjacent to the wound. You may also try gently biting on a clean piece of gauze to stop or reduce bleeding until you reach the dentist.
Child Tooth Knock Out
Children’s teeth are more likely to be implanted back into their socket compared to adults, so preserve the fallen tooth as mentioned above. It can be challenging to keep a child steady and calm in this situation, so visit the children dentist right away.
Toothache
There is no appropriate time for a toothache, any time is a bad time. It may wake you up in the middle of a night. All you can do is observe the symptoms, provide primary relief and see the dentist when possible. Toothaches might arise out of tooth decay, sensitivity while eating or drinking something very hot or cold, exposed tooth dentin, cracked filling, etc. Take over-the-counter pain-relief medicines to numb the pain till you visit the dentist.
Successful emergency management relies upon experience and expertise. Our reliable and expert team of dentists at Ashton Avenue Dental Practice, reserve time for dental emergencies in their routine. You are sure to be treated safely and with utmost care by our dentists.
