Dental emergency might not seem so much as an “emergency”. But if it is left untreated, it can result to a more serious condition – some are even life threatening. So don’t take dental emergency for granted. When you encounter any of the following dental emergencies, do the corresponding tips to alleviate the situation.

knocked out tooth

1. Knocked-Out Tooth. Don’t be the dentist on this. If your tooth is knocked out, just wash the tooth with water gently. Be sure you don’t remove any tissue attached to the tooth. The best thing to do after that is to place the tooth back into its socket if at all possible. If not, get a glass of milk and place your tooth there. Go straight to your dentist.
2. Broken teeth. A few examples of why you might encounter a broken tooth are: an accident, a fight, grossly decayed tooth or a weak tooth. This can be an uncomfortable experience. To alleviate the pain before you can visit your dentist, just get warm water rinse your mouth, if there is any swelling, use a cold compress on your face to reduce the swelling.
3. Toothache. There are a lot of factors that cause a toothache. When you feel the pain, start off by washing your mouth with warm water. Then you can use a dental floss to remove any food particles trapped between the teeth of inside the gum. Contact your dentist if the pain won’t go away.
   

   Tooth Abscess

4.  Dental abscess. You will know you have dental abscess if you can see some swelling on areas of your gums, like a pimple.Dental abscess can be dangerous if left untreated. Use warm salted water to rinse your mouth and go to your dentist immediately.
5. Broken jaw. You might have a fight or you accidentally bump your jaw to the wall or any object, as long as there is swelling in this area it means that you have injured your jaw. You need to use cold compress for the swelling. Don’t ignore this incident. Go to your dentist immediately.
6. Stuck object between teeth. Any object that gets trapped in between your teeth can easily damage your gum and teeth. Use dental floss to remove it and not just any object. Go to your dentist if you are not able to get it out from between your teeth.
   

   Broken Filling

7. Broken filling. If your filling breaks off or falls out, then you can buy a temporary filling material or cement from any pharmacy and put it in the “hole” where the filling use to be and contact your dentist immediately. You can also place a piece of sugarless gum there to cover the hole until you get to your dentist.
8. Broken dental crowns. If your dental crown came off, best is to call your dentist right away for an appointment. You don’t want to be without the crown because the teeth can move and your crown may not fit anymore and have to end up paying for a new crown. If you can’t get to your dentist right away and you need to wait a week or so, you can also use the OTC temporary dental cement to place the crown back on until you see you dentist.

Some of these dental emergencies need immediate attention either because of pain or risk of infection. you need to take care of these right away because they can become more serious and dangerous. Dentists are trained to deal with these emergencies preventing further damage.

If you have a dental emergency and need a dentist, call us at 323-771-7254. We will bring you in the same day.

By Ladan Zinati