Living With Healthy Hunger Health Blog
Accidents are common, but knowing what to do when one occurs can make a lot of difference. Dental emergencies happen quite often, but it is essential to know how to handle them until you receive medical or dental care.
Immediate and prompt treatment is essential to alleviate pain and discomfort caused by dental emergencies. A dentist in Leesburg, VA offers immediate dental care to ensure your teeth have the best possible chance of survival.
Understanding dental emergencies
Not all dental issues that you experience can be regarded as dental emergencies. However, when you suffer any direct trauma to your mouth, teeth, lips or gums leading to severe pain and discomfort, and when you fear losing your teeth, it is considered a dental emergency.
Dive into the different ways to handle dental emergencies
Avulsed tooth
When a tooth is knocked out it can damage the surrounding tissues, nerves, and blood vessels.
Call your dentist immediately and seek help. Meanwhile, rinse off your avulsed tooth, but do not touch the tooth root. You should prevent the tooth from drying either by tucking into your cheek pouch or placing it in a cup of milk, water, or saliva.
The tooth can be reattached to the socket or root canal therapy may be required.
Lost filling/crown
When your tooth is afflicted by secondary caries, the existing filling or crown may loosen and fall out. This leads to increased sensitivity of the tooth to pressure and temperature changes. Make an appointment immediately, and place the crown in a cool and safe place since there is a possibility that it can be reinserted.
If your dentist is not available immediately, you need to take the following steps:
- Apply clove oil to the affected tooth to reduce pain and sensitivity
- You can purchase a local cement at the pharmacy and try to fix the crown onto the tooth surface
- Do not use any kind of glue to fix the crown
Fractured tooth
Severe trauma to the teeth can lead to cracks and fractures. These are mostly painless, but if the cracks extend down into the root it is likely that the pain is severe.
When you experience a tooth fracture:
- Rinse your mouth and broken tooth fragment with lukewarm water
- Apply gauze for 10 mins to arrest bleeding
- Use cold compression to reduce swelling
- Take a painkiller if required
Mobile tooth
If the dislodged or mobile tooth is still attached to the blood vessels it can be reattached. Your dentist may also use splints to stabilize it. If the tooth fails to heal, root canal therapy may be required.
Conclusion
The pain caused by dental emergencies can worsen without treatment, and dental issues can greatly jeopardize physical health and wellness. Thus it is important to know how to handle them and seek immediate dental care.
