Most Common Dental Emergencies And Their Symptoms
Everyone has experienced some type of many dental emergencies at least once in their lives. These are serious situations which always require the attention of a professional. Remember, whatever you’re experiencing, make sure to call the dentist first. Don’t try out things by yourself, especially if these are not recommended by a professional. You definitely don’t want to cause any further damage. Below we listed the most common dental emergencies and tips on how to temporarily deal with them.
Chipped And Fractured Teeth
Chipped and broken teeth are a very common dental emergency. These often happen during accidents of all types. It can be a car accident, fall from a bike, a trauma with some object and a whole range of other situations. They can also appear at all ages, but are much more frequent among young kids who are always active. Once this happens patients usually have no idea how urgent it is or how they should take care of it. First of all, cracked teeth are not always that obvious such as broken. It can literally be the smallest piece that you won’t even notice, or experience any symptoms. It is much more noticeable when it happens in the frontal region.
How To Deal With It
Of course, the main thing you have to keep in mind is to visit the dentist right away. Since both of these situations are considered, time is of the essence. There are many varieties of chipped and broken teeth, so each one is treated in a different way by the dentist. Also, remember to find and keep the broken parts of the tooth. In the meantime, there are a few things you can do to ease the pain. Start with getting a pain reliever that you have. Make sure that you also rinse your mouth with warm water and remove all the broken pieces on the side. You can ease the swelling with ice on the side where it happened. If there is bleeding, apply pressure with a piece of gauze.
Toothache
We all know how awful it is when a tooth hurts. There are several different dental conditions that can lead to a toothache. It can wake you up in the middle of the night, or strike you at the office. The pain makes a toothache a dental emergency.
Also the characteristics can vary, starting with a very short and throbbing pain, or a constant unbearable one. Some of the reasons include caries, gum disease, chipped teeth, and more. This unfortunate situation can prevent you from doing your everyday activities or lose sleep at night. You can even experience difficulties while eating, fever, working and so much more.
How To Deal With It
Since no one likes pain, this is an emergency situation that you have to take seriously. The best solution is an immediate visit to the dental office. In most cases painkillers only help you deal with it for a very short amount of time. So the best advice is to start by rinsing the mouth. If there is swelling, apply cold on the outside. Aside from this there is not much else you can do until you go to the dentist. Don’t ever try to put a painkiller on the gum where the tooth hurts, that can actually cause damage to the soft tissues.
Knocked Out Teeth
Knocked out teeth are a very common dental emergency together with fractured and chipped teeth. They happen as a result of an accident. This requires an immediate visit to the dentist, because time is of the essence. If you can get there as fast as possible, the dentist might even be able to save your tooth or teeth. The signs of knocked out teeth are very obvious. You will notice that a toot is missing and is not located in the mouth anymore. There will be bleeding, pain and it can often come together with lacerations, cuts, and other visible injuries depending on the cause.
How To Deal With It
Right after the accident happens, the most important thing is to check the vitals of the patient and quickly check for other injuries that can be even more urgent than the one in the mouth. If a knocked out tooth is the only injury, you have to find it. It might be out of the mouth, or still somewhere inside. Check under the tongue, in the cheek area and once you do you should only touch it at the crown. At all costs avoid touching the root. The roots contain cells and fibers which are very gentle and can help the dentist reattach the tooth in the socket.
After you’ve found the tooth, take it by the crown and find the best place to store it. It can be milk, the inside of the mouth under the tongue or inside the cheek, or if you can’t find any of these, saline and water will do the job. Don’t scrub the tooth. If there is an option, try putting the tooth back in the socket. In the meantime, go to a dental office where you’ll be taken care of by professionals. Time is the most important factor in cases such as this one. The longer the tooth is outside of the pocket, the smaller the chances are that it will be replanted in the socket.
Jaw Pain
Jaw pain can be caused by a variety of factors. The most urgent one is a broken jaw. It can happen during a fall, accident, or a strong force affecting the jaw bone. Most patients don’t take jaw pain seriously. A broken jaw is one of the most important dental emergencies that require instant attention. Other types can even come from the joints. Either way, the first thing you need to do is a call and visit a dentist.
How To Deal With It
Once jaw pain happens, you should stay away from solid food and call your dentist. There is not much you can do. If there is actual and obvious swelling, you can treat it with ice.
A Crown Or Restoration Has Come Off
This usually happens with temporary restorations, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not an emergency. No matter if it’s a permanent or temporary, a crown that has come off requires dental attention as soon as possible. The same thing applies to dental bridges, fillings, and all other restorations. Once you notice that it has happened, try reaching your dentist and let him know. They are aware that they should give you an appointment the same day if possible. It can be accompanied by pain, hypersensitivity and more.
How To Deal With It
There is nothing you can do, except for going to the dental office. You should definitely avoid chewing on that side, because you can cause damage to the tooth. If you are not able to go to the dentist the same day. try putting back the crown on with an over the counter cement. Other options are Vaseline, denture adhesives and more.
Soft Tissue Injuries
The mouth is made of soft tissues that are often injured. It is another one of the dental emergencies you have to take care of right away. This is a large group of injuries that include cuts, rips, wounds, lacerations, bleeding and more. They can happen to the mouth, tongue, cheeks, lips and every other soft tissue that takes a part in building the oral cavity. Among the many symptoms you will notice pain, bleeding, discomfort, inflammation
How To Deal With It
Start by rinsing your mouth with water. Make sure that you clean the area where the injury happened. If there is bleeding, you’ll have to apply pressure with gauze to stop it. In this case it is recommended to wash the mouth with a very mild salt and water solution. Hold the pressure for about 15 minutes. If there is swelling you want to try a cold compress on the outside. The primary thing to think of is to immediately call your dentist and let them know what happened. Literally any medical facility in the nearby area will do the job if there is bleeding. Be very careful with painkillers when experiencing soft tissue injuries. Some types including aspirin are considered to be anticoagulants and will interfere with the process of stopping the bleeding.
Damaged Braces
This is a dental emergency for an orthodontist. Dental braces are made of several parts, all of which can be damaged. Unfortunately, in most cases, the patient will not be able to solve the problem. This means an urgent visit to the dental office. Orthodontic wires can often break and cause injuries to the surrounding soft tissues. They have to be cut and replaced with a new one. Another case is loose and fallen off brackets.
How To Deal With It
Call your orthodontist and schedule a visit. In the meantime, try changing the position of the wire, so that it doesn’t hurt you. If you can’t manage to do that, cover the end with a small gauze, or any other soft fabric. Loose brackets are a much bigger problem, since you don’t own any instruments or materials that you can re-attach them with. Keep the bracket and take it with you to the orthodontist.
Objects Stuck in The Mouth
It does sound strange but a lot of patients appear to the dental office with this problem. It is very easy to get an object or even food logged in between teeth or in the gums.
How To Deal With It
At first, try removing whatever stuck with a very gentle procedure. If that doesn’t help, you can try using dental floss. When that doesn’t work either, it’s time to call the dentist. You don’t want to opt for sharp objects that you find at home because you can injure yourself even more.