Dental Emergencies

Dental Emergencies

An oral emergency brings about worry and sometimes pain. Immediate care may be necessary to quickly relieve pain and maintain the patients’ natural smile.

Cracked teeth can be caused by traumatic injury or biting down on tough items. Oral damage after dental procedures may also lead to dental emergencies. If you are experiencing extreme pain or discomfort, we highly suggest you call our office promptly. Leaving the pain untreated will become worse and may affect overall oral and physical wellbeing.

Dental Emergency Types and Care Procedures:

Avulsed Tooth

The knocking out of a tooth must be immediately followed with a dental visit. The violent escape of a tooth often causes damage to the mouth, nerves, tissues, and vessels. By placing the tooth back in the original socket (within 60 minutes), there is a possibility of restoring its supporting tissues.

Be sure to:

1. Contact our dental professionals.

2. DO NOT touch the root. Instead, grab the crown of the town and run it under warm water.

3. Place the tooth in its socket if applicable. Tucking the tooth into the cheek can be an alternative.

4. If unable to store the tooth in the original socket or cheek, place the tooth in milk, saliva, or water. The tooth must remain moist to potentially recover it.

5. Visit our office promptly and in a safe manner.

Our dental care team will work to restore the tooth in its original socket. This may lead to the tooth reattaching to the tissue. If tissue experiences intense damage, the patient may have to be experience root canal therapy.

Loose Crown or Filling

Usually, crowns are loose due to tooth decay. The decay alters the tooth’s shape and no longer takes the form of the crown. The feeling of a loose crown or filling is often experienced while eating.

When the crown exits the mouth, the underlying tooth may have intense sensitivity. Make a dental appointment at your earliest convenience for treatment. Place the crown in a cool area until reinsertion. Prompt care is important in preventing further teeth damage or shifting.

Follow these procedures until dental care is available:

1. Relieve pain by placing clove oil on the affected tooth

2. Retrieve dental cement (available at local pharmacies)

3. Wash the crown, then place it on the tooth using the dental cement.

4. In absence of a crown, coat the tooth with dental cement.

5. Refrain from using glue to place the crown back on the tooth.

Professionals will examine the fitting of the crown before any procedures. If the crown fits, it will be placed back onto the tooth. If decay is present, the tooth will undergo care and retrieve a newly fitted crown.

Fractured teeth

Fractures, cracks, or breakage occurs when there is oral trauma, biting, or teeth grinding. Teeth are likely to experience fractures despite their tough exterior. Often fractures are painless unless they proceed to the root. When this happens, pain is often intense and you may need to seek a dental professional’s attention as soon as possible.

In the meantime, the patient can follow these at-home steps:

1. Contact our office.

2. Rinse and gargle with warm water.

3. Place gauze in bleeding areas for approximately 10 minutes.

4. To alleviate swelling and pain, hold a cold towel on the cheek.

5. Smear dental cement of the fractures until you are able to seek a dental care professional.

6. Take a pain reliever.

The fracture may minimize the natural function of the tooth. Dental fragments can be temporarily placed on the tooth.

Shifted/ Moving Teeth

It is possible to recover a shifted or dislodged tooth, even after experience trauma or decay. If the tooth remains in the socket (nerves and blood vessels are attached to the tooth), the patient may also avoid root canal therapy.

The most critical step is to contact our office and schedule an appointment as soon as possible. Cold compressions and over-the-counter pain relievers may be used in the interim. In cases where the tooth is unable to heal, the patient may need to undergo root canal therapy.

Please contact our office to address any questions or concerns regarding dental emergencies.

Contact us today.