Dental emergencies occur when least expected. It’s best to prepare for these emergencies with a plan of action once one of these events occurs. If you’re suffering from a dental emergency, remain calm, call your dentist, and follow the following tips depending on your situation.
Different Types of Dental Emergencies
Tooth Avulsion:
This occurs when a tooth is cleanly knocked out from its socket while remaining intact. If attended to quickly enough, within one hour since the point of emergency, an avulsed tooth can be reinserted. In addition to schedule an appointment, there are steps that you can take to improve your chances of reattaching the tooth:
- Recover and clean the tooth, handling it by its crown. Touching the root of the tooth can cause damage to the connecting nerve tissues that could prevent reattachment.
- Clean the affected area by rinsing thoroughly with warm water.
- If able, return the tooth back to its socket. Otherwise, store the tooth in milk or saliva.
An Abscessed Tooth
An infection deep within the root of the tooth, can be a painful experience and necessitate care to heal. This can occur as a result of severe tooth decay or damage to the tooth that has failed to have been addressed. An abscessed tooth must be treated as soon as possible to limit the damage to surrounding dentition and supporting jaw bone. If you are experiencing dental pain, schedule an appointment right away.
Addressing your abscessed tooth requires eliminating the infected area by way of root canal therapy. This treatment removes decay from within the tooth’s root and seals it from receiving further decay. A crown will be placed to protect the tooth and restore its structure.
A cracked or chipped tooth may not always warrant an emergency visit to the dental office and can usually wait until the next available appointment, so patients calling their dentist at two in the morning can feel relief knowing that their dental health won’t be heavily compromised further than it already has. However, some cases of a cracked tooth may expose the inner nerves of the tooth. As mentioned before, if a tooth is cracked, decay can enter through this area and affect your dental health. Repairing the tooth using bonding or a crown restores the structure while protecting the tooth against decay.
Learn More
Call or visit Southland Dental Family in Anaheim, CA to schedule a consultation or to learn more about the best ways for maintaining optimal oral health in case of an emergency or other issues.