Three Dental Emergencies & How to Handle Them

Accidents are an unfortunate part of life, but like hospitals provide relief for medical emergencies your dentist can often provide services for dental emergencies. While dental emergencies range a wide variety of issues it is important to get them treated immediately as they can have rather adverse effects on your health in the long term. Here are some common dental emergencies and what you should do should they occur.

Chipped or Broken Teeth

Whether it be a slip or fall or other accident where you suffer oral trauma, your tooth can chip for any number of reasons. What is very important that should this happen to you that you try to save any pieces that might have broken off as well as use warm, clean water to wash out your mouth. Use gauze to apply pressure to stop the bleeding and apply a compress to the affected area to help reduce swelling.

Visit your dentist as soon as possible and there is a possibility that the tooth can repaired, but do not delay. Time is of the essence in this matter.

Knocked Out Teeth

Much more severe than the previous problem, you can lose a tooth when there is severe oral trauma often from a sudden impact. It is very important for you to preserve the lost tooth and is paramount that you keep it moist at all times on the way to your dentist's office.

You can either keep the tooth tucked away in your cheek or in milk to prevent it from rotting. There are also products that can be used specifically for this purpose if you keep a fully stocked first aid kit on your person or in your home.

Objects Stuck Between Teeth

While this one is less serious than the two above, it is possible for you to get foreign objects jammed in between your teeth. It is important to try and get the foreign object out with floss, but be gentle! If this doesn't work you might be tempted to try and fish the object out with a sharp object, but you should reconsider this as it can damage your teeth worse. If the object is stuck too firmly it is best to leave it alone and visit your dentist so that they can extract the item for you.

Hopefully with these things in mind you can successfully navigate an emergency when it comes up and not cause any extra damage to your mouth. Talk to clinics such as Peak Family Dentistry & Orthodontics for more information.


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