Dealing With Dental Emergencies
If you have never suffered a dental emergency, consider yourself lucky. If you should suffer one, however, you should know what to do. The actions you take immediately following the emergency could mean the difference between a minor repair and one that is very serious, resulting in permanent loss of your tooth or worse!
The Knocked Out Tooth
The most crucial thing to remember about a knocked out tooth is how to preserve it, especially if you are dealing with a permanent tooth. The key is to keep it moist. Before you pick it up, however, make sure that you can do so from the top of the tooth, not the bottom as you could touch and damage the roots. If you can easily put the tooth back in the socket, do so. If not, place it in your mouth, between your cheek and gums. If that makes you uneasy, you can also store it in a glass of milk.
The Cracked Tooth
A cracked tooth is not as serious as a knocked out tooth, but it still requires an emergency dental visit. As soon as you are able, rinse your mouth out with warm water. You should rinse until you can no longer see blood. Once your mouth is clean, apply a clean, cold compress to the area to limit the amount of swelling that occurs as well as the amount of pain you suffer.
In either of these dental emergencies you should call us and get to the dental office as soon as possible. |
