Dental emergencies happen more often than you may realize, yet many of us don’t know how to respond to them when they do happen. Being prepared for a potential dental emergency ensures that you will receive prompt medical care with the best outcomes. Let’s look at our dental emergency guide.
Dental Emergency Guide
To help ensure that you know what to do when an emergency strikes, we have put together basic guidelines for dealing with common dental emergencies. Keep in mind that your personal medical history may require a different approach. Consult with your emergency dentist in Cedar Falls if you have any questions.
The Emergency Room vs. Your Emergency Dentist
When it comes to a dental emergency, the first essential decision is where you should go for immediate medical treatment. As a general rule, you should always go to the emergency room first if you have any serious injuries affecting parts of your body other than your mouth.
The emergency staff at the ER can help stabilize any bleeding and treat pain as needed. More importantly, they can check for conditions that pose an immediate threat. Once you’ve received initial treatment, you can make an emergency appointment with your dentist to directly address your oral injuries.
If your emergency is limited to your mouth, then you should call your emergency dentist and have someone drive you to the office immediately.
Lost Tooth
If you lose a tooth, then your first task is to try to find it. If you can find the lost tooth, then pick it up from the tip. Do everything you can to not touch the root. Then rinse the tooth. Milk works well for neutralizing bacteria without being too harsh.
Once the tooth has been rinsed, you should try to put the tooth back in the socket. Hold it in place with gauze if you can while you make your way to your dentist. The tooth will protect the socket from being fully exposed to bacteria during that time.
Loose Tooth
If one of your adult teeth becomes loose, then it is best to treat it as an emergency. A loose tooth leaves you vulnerable to bacterial infection and other potential injuries. While you call your dentist, do your best to hold the tooth in place.
You may be instructed to bite down on the tooth or stabilize the tooth in some other way. The point is to keep the tooth in place while you make your way to your dentist.
Broken Tooth
If your tooth is cracked, chipped, or fractured then your response will depend on the extent of the injury. A minor chip or crack to the bite surface is important to address, but you probably don’t need to rush to the dentist’s office.
However, if there is a vertical fracture or a crack going up the middle of your tooth towards the root, you will want to make the time to see your dentist as soon as possible. This type of damage isn’t just painful, but it could cause you to lose the tooth without proper intervention.
Facial Pain
Any facial pain around your mouth or jaw is an indication that there could be a serious dental injury or infection. This pain can be a dull ache or very sharp depending on the underlying cause. In either case, you should contact your emergency dentist as soon as possible.
Choosing Your Emergency Dentist
Dentists are trained to deal with a wide variety of oral conditions. As a result, most dentists will be able to help you with a dental emergency, but their abilities may be limited by their specializations.
Severe dental emergencies may require the help of oral surgery and cosmetic dentistry in Cedar Falls. For the best emergency care, you should consider choosing a dental office that offers those specialties in house.