Emergency Dental Care
Everybody knows that they have to see their dentist after regular intervals so that the respective dentist can ensure their dental health and let them know about any familiar problems. But there are also some issues that may require emergency dental care by you. Generally people neither know about such extraordinary situations nor have any awareness to suitably address them. All such issues and their requisite remedial actions are listed below as a ready reference:-
Toothache. If you don’t know why your tooth is hurting, the first thing to do is carefully rinse your mouth with warm water, and remove any bits of food that might be irritating your gums using dental floss. Take an aspirin for the pain and see your dentist as soon as possible to figure out what’s causing it. You can use a cold compress against your face to reduce any swelling and help numb the discomfort.
Trapped object. If you can’t remove it yourself with brushing or flossing, then you may need to see your dentist. Trying to pick your teeth with something sharp can damage the surface of your teeth and injure your gums.
Soft tissue injuries. Wounds in the mouth often bleed a lot for a surprisingly long time. You can start by using clean, slightly damp gauze to press against the area to try and stop it, generally for about 10-15 minutes. A cold compress may ease discomfort and help slow bleeding as well. If you can’t stop the bleeding after trying this, you should see your dentist or even go to the emergency room for help. Take the gauze with you and keep on applying the pressure.
Abscess. An abscess is a severe infection in your mouth, often at the base of a tooth or between your teeth. They are pus?filled swellings which are painful in themselves and can be really bad news for your dental health, and there’s a risk of the infection spreading throughout the body and making you ill as well. It’s important to see your dentist as soon as you can for treatment. You can relieve some discomfort from an abscess in the meantime by rinsing your mouth with a mild salt solution, and this may also help combat the infection.
Lost tooth. If a tooth gets knocked out, it can actually be returned to the socket if you get help fast enough. If you can, you should gently place the tooth back in the socket without forcing it. If there’s any dirt, wash it gently in water first, but try not to remove any attached tissue fragments which could be used to re?secure the tooth. Be careful not to force the tooth into place – that could cause more damage! If you can’t put the tooth back in your mouth, you should put the tooth in a container with salt solution or milk. There may be some commercially available growth medium products available from a chemist: use these as described on their packaging. Either way, you have the best chance of successfully getting your tooth reattached if you see your dentist within an hour of the accident, but it may be worth trying even if you have to wait a little longer.
Broken braces. If you’re wearing braces to straighten your teeth and the wire snaps, it can gouge your cheek and cause a lot of bleeding and discomfort. You shouldn’t try to cut the wire, as that presents a choking risk and you may just make it even sharper. You can however carefully pad the wire with cotton or gauze, or wrap it in a little ball of wax, to prevent any more trauma. You need to see your orthodontist as soon as possible when an accident like this occurs to have your braces repaired. The same applies if other parts of your braces come loose.
Lost filling. This could be very painful because the nerves at the centre of your tooth get exposed. Using over-the-counter dental cement can help keep your tooth clean and free of infection and pain until you can see your dentist to have your filling redone, but it is only a temporary solution.
Lost crown. If a crown falls off, make sure to keep it and, if possible, put it back in place with dental cement while you wait for a chance to get an appointment with your dentist. You may experience some tooth sensitivity if you lose a crown; carefully applying clove oil to the sensitive area should help reduce the discomfort.
If you have any persistent problems in any of these cases, you should see your dentist as soon as possible. Pain relieving suggestions may help you while waiting for your appointment, but for the sake of your dental health, don’t just take aspirin and ignore it.
