A LITTLE BIT OF PREP work makes a huge difference when a local emergency happens, including an oral injury that requires an emergency dentist. What exactly can we do to prepare for something like an unexpected injury that needs urgent dental care? It depends on the specific situation, and it’s an important part of looking after our oral health.
Broken Tooth
If an injury results in a broken, chipped, or cracked tooth, the best thing to do is head straight to the dental practice for dental work. If you can find the broken pieces, bring them along in a glass of cold milk to protect them. It’s also okay to rinse your mouth with water.
Even if a crack or chip seems minor, do not ignore it! If the damage reaches the pulp chamber, it puts the tooth in serious danger of infection. Even if it doesn’t, it can work like a cavity and give bacteria a space to grow until it does reach the pulp chamber. That’s how dental infections start and it can lead to pulp death, painful abscesses, loss of bone tissue in the jaw. There’s even a risk of the infection spreading to the bloodstream.
Knocked Out Adult Tooth
If the whole tooth gets knocked out in one piece, this, too, is a situation that requires immediate attention from an emergency dentist. There is a limited window (not much longer than an hour) in which a knocked out tooth can be successfully replanted, so the faster you get to the dentist, the better its chances are. To give it its best shot, put it back in the socket on the way there and hold it in place with a washcloth or gauze. If that isn’t possible, store it in cold milk.
Here are a few important don’ts for knocked out teeth:
- DO NOT touch the root.
- DO NOT allow it to become dry.
- DO NOT scrub or clean it with soap, alcohol, or peroxide.
Any of these could kill the root, making the tooth impossible to replant. The goal is to give the root its best chance of survival by handling it carefully, storing it properly, and getting to the emergency dentist as quickly as you can.
Knocked Out Baby Tooth
Most of the time, when a baby tooth gets knocked out, it isn’t an emergency. Typically we wouldn’t replant a baby tooth because that might create problems for the permanent tooth underneath. However, if it wasn’t loose beforehand, we recommend at least giving the emergency dentist a call for some advice. There might be less obvious damage than what happened to the tooth.
We’re Prepared for Patient Emergencies Too!
Another essential part of your dental emergency plan, besides what to do in different emergency situations, is to know where to go for help! Check out this link to see where our practice is located or visit our business page here. Your oral health will thank you.
If you’d like to learn about our practice’s emergency dental services or need to schedule a dental appointment with a general dentist for other dental problems, just give us a call and we can tell you about our end of the equation. Hopefully you’ll never need to make use of this information and the only times we’ll see you will be for normal appointments, but preparation is key!
