Many types of dental injuries can happen due to either poor oral health or trauma, but the most common of these are toothaches, damaged teeth and abscesses.
If you don’t know what to do in case of a dental emergency, read on for helpful tips and instructions.
Here at Crown Dental Group, our experience dental team is ready to manage your dental emergencies with speed and proficiency.
The Most Common Dental Emergencies
Toothaches
Many things can cause tooth pain. However, it is one of the most common reasons people seek a dentist in a hurry. Tooth pain requires a comprehensive examination to determine the best solution in order to stop the pain and save the tooth.
Many people tend to ignore the first sign of a toothache because the pain they experience is minor and temporary. What they don’t know is the pain is actually a signal to get treatment. As soon as you start to feel low-level pain in a tooth, the decay has already entered the enamel and is wearing down the dentine. While the cavity spreads down the pulp chamber, the discomfort surges in severity and duration.
By the time, the tooth pain becomes continuous, which indicates that the raw nerve has been exposed, the pain becomes unbearable and it’s impossible to ignore. Once the pulp chamber is penetrated, your vascular as well as nervous systems are vulnerable to damage and infection.
What to do:
Rinse your mouth thoroughly with warm water. You can mix in a little salt (1 teaspoon per 8-ounce glass).
Take some pain medication: ibuprofen and/or paracetamol (Avoid aspirin. It is an anti-coagulant and could possibly make any bleeding worse)
Avoid applying any pain medication directly to the offending tooth or gum area since this could damage tissues. See your dentist as soon as possible.
Damaged Teeth or External Trauma
If you have suffered some kind of trauma to your teeth, make sure that your situation has alleviated and that you are no longer exposed to further harm. Once you’re safe and secure, figure out the extent of the injury to your tooth. If you have a knocked out or broken tooth, you can apply the basic principles such as this: SSS, which stands for Save, Sanitize, See.
SAVE – if your tooth has been knocked out, recover the tooth. Pick it up by the crown without touching the roots. Keep your tooth alive by not allowing it to dry out. Store the tooth in a mild saline solution after you have cleaned it. You may also transfer some of your saliva into a sanitary container and put the tooth inside it until you can get professional treatment.
For a broken tooth, recover any fragments of the tooth. Handle the fragments with care and store them safely in a sanitary receptacle as you would a knocked out tooth. Take the fragments to the clinic for your dentist to see. The nature and severity of the damage determines the suitable treatment.
SANITIZE – While you’re not yet in the dental office for a professional cleaning, you should perform a simple, basic cleaning. This often involves rinsing the fragment or the tooth in a clean solution. A sanitary rinse can keep your tooth sanitary too. Avoid touching the knocked out tooth’s root portion if possible. Using tweezers or other clean instrument for the tooth is better than touching the tooth or fragments with your bare fingers.
SEE – Go to the nearest dental clinic as soon as possible! You have less than an hour to get a knocked out tooth to a dental professional before the root cells die. That’s why it is essential to store the damaged tooth in a clean solution to amplify the chances of getting the best possible dental result.
You need to improvise if you find yourself in need of emergency dental attention at a bad time. Get your damaged tooth cleaned and securely stored in a clean solution so it won’t dry out. Remember dry cells are dead cells. Afterwards, contact your dentist. If you can’t reach your dental team, go to the nearest dentist that is available. If there’s no available dentist, seek medical treatment at a hospital emergency or medical clinic.
Abscesses
Abscesses occur around the tooth root or in the space between a tooth and gums. They are infections that can become very serious and in some cases, life threatening. If you discover a pimple or swelling, rinse your mouth with a mild solution of saltwater and go see your dentist right away. Keep in mind that any form of infections in your mouth can also migrate into your bloodstream, which may cause health issues in other areas of your body. Catching the infection early is the best way to treat any infection before it becomes severe.
Guaranteed Same Day Emergency Appointment at Crown Dental Group in Rowville
We know that emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere. Because of this, we offer emergency appointments every day, regardless of how busy we are. If you have a dental emergency in Rowville or anywhere in Melbourne, we will make every effort to attend to your needs even if that means staying late in the evening or using our lunch breaks! The sooner you call Crown Dental Group to arrange an emergency appointment, the more opportunity we have to save your tooth, so call us as soon as possible.
Same Day Emergency Dental Appointment
Call us on (03) 8288 1477 today!
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