subject: Dental Emergencies Are You Prepared For A Toothache, Or Worse? [print this page] What to Do in a Dental Emergency? What to Do in a Dental Emergency?
A dental emergency is an injury to or in the mouth, such as a tooth ache, loose or knocked-out teeth, as well as chipped or broken teeth. Dental emergencies should never be ignored as they can lead to serious and permanent damage. Untended dental emergencies can end up costing you much more later.
Dental emergencies can happen to anyone, at any time. Other conditions which are considered dental emergencies are: lost fillings or crowns, broken brace wires, loose brackets, and even objects caught between teeth. In a dental emergency, visit your regular dentist, or an emergency dentist as soon as possible.
However, that may not always be practical. In this three part series on What to Do in a Dental Emergency, we discuss what you should do and what you should avoid until receiving emergency dental treatment.
Toothaches
Clean the mouth with warm water. Apply a cold compress from outside the mouth or cheek if mouth is swollen. Avoid putting painkillers such as asprin in the gums as it may burn gum tissue. Visit your local dentist or an emergency dentist as soon as possible.
Visit a local emergency dentist straight away. Until you are in the dentists office, apply a cold compress outside the mouth to relieve pain. You may take an over-the-counter pain reliever if it is needed.
Knocked out tooth
If the tooth is dirty, rinse it with water, but take care not to remove any attached tissue fragments. You should only hold the tooth by its crown. Try to put the tooth back in place, if possible, and ensure that it is facing the right way. If you cant do this, put the tooth in a small container with milk. You can also use a bit of salt dissolved in a cup of water with instead of milk. There are also products, such as Save-a-Tooth that contain cell growth medium which you can use, if available. Visit a local dentist as soon as possible. Knocked out teeth have the highest chances of being saved if returned to their socket by a dentist within 1 hour of the accident.
Chipped or broken tooth
Use warm water to rinse your mouth and save and rinse any broken pieces. To stop bleeding, apply a piece of gauze to the area. You can keep the swelling and control the pain by applying a cold compress outside the mouth, near the broken or chipped tooth. Visit your dentist as soon as possible.
