When you are suffering from a dental emergency, you need immediate care. At Pure Smiles, we are committed to assisting those with dental emergencies with quick and competent care. If you happen to find yourself in a dental emergency, here are a few things you can do to lessen the pain and save your oral health until you can make it to our office.
Traumatic Dental Injuries
If a permanent tooth has been knocked out, you will want to react quickly. You can significantly increase the chances of saving the tooth with the following immediate actions. First, pick up the tooth but don’t touch the root. Next, gently rinse off the tooth with water. Finally, place the tooth back in the socket and apply gentle pressure to keep it there until you arrive at the dental office. If, for some reason, you are unable to place it in the patient’s socket, you can place it between the patient’s gum and cheek or transport it in a container with cold milk.
If a tooth has been loosened or moved, it is crucial that treatment be given within six hours. The need is even more urgent if there is uncontrollable bleeding. In this case, you should immediately get the patient to your local emergency room. The most common dental injury of this sort is chipped teeth. If you or a loved one have suffered a chipped tooth, try to find any pieces of tooth that have come off. Call our office right away and bring the tooth pieces with you to the appointment.
Tooth Pain
Severe are consistent tooth pain should always prompt you to make an urgent visit to the dentist. Tooth decay is the most common source of this type of pain. It is usually caused by bacterial infection that has spread throughout the tooth. It may even have proceeded to the gums. If the infection has become serious enough, it may even require a root canal treatment to clear out the infection, relieve the pain, and preserve the tooth. Sometimes, severe pain may be the result of a sensitive tooth or a loose filling. We encourage you to visit us as soon as possible in order to determine the source of your pain.
Gum Emergencies
Emergency treatment may also be required for injuries and infections that affect the soft tissue of your mouth. The soft tissue of your tongue, cheek lining, or gums may be damaged by falls, sports injuries, accidental bites, or scalding hot liquids. If left unattended, these situations can develop into abscesses and present the possibility of painful infections. Abscesses need immediate diagnosis and treatment from your dentist’s office.
If the soft tissue of your mouth has been injured, you should immediately rinse with a diluted salt water solution. If you see visible debris, you should clear it out. You can usually control any bleeding caused by the injury by pressing a damp, clean cloth to the area for approximately 15 minutes. If this does not stop the bleeding, you should immediately head for the emergency room.
If you discover a foreign body wedged beneath the gum line, you can often gently remove it with a toothpick or the use of dental floss. If this object will not come out easily, you should make a dental appointment to have it removed. Continued touching of the area can result in additional damage or even infection.