Dental emergencies can happen at any time, at any age, and anywhere, and you should be prepared to handle a dental emergency situation if one occurs. A dental emergency can be anything from a knocked-out tooth or a chipped or cracked tooth to severe pain in your teeth. If you have a dental emergency, you need to be able to handle it properly until you can get help from a dentist. Read on for some tips on what you can do in a dental emergency.
Chipped Or Cracked Tooth
A chipped or cracked tooth can be just as painful as a tooth that has been knocked out. If the chip was large enough, it may be exposing the inside of the tooth and causing you pain when you drink, eat, or even just breathe. If you have a chipped tooth, you should place the piece of the tooth in a small container of milk immediately afterward and get to the dentist right away. The piece of the chipped tooth may be able to be put back onto your tooth, but this has to be done immediately. If you have a broken tooth, it's best to avoid eating or drinking anything other than water and get to the dentist right away. Don't allow food or other particles to get inside the cracked tooth, as bacteria and other things may be able to get inside and an infection could occur, or if it goes untreated, you may run the risk of this tooth rotting.
Knocked Out Tooth
If the tooth was knocked out, and you found the tooth, you should rinse it with cool water and place it into a glass of milk until you can get to the dentist. Be sure to rinse it carefully, especially if the root of the tooth is still intact. Hold onto it tightly so you do not lose it down the sink. The tooth may be able to be reset back into place, and the root will adhere properly, but this is something that needs to be done quickly. If you were unable to find the missing tooth, use a warm washcloth to help soothe the area where the tooth went missing, take a pain reliever to help alleviate any pain in the gums, and still get to the dentist right away to ensure you did not cause any damage to any of the surrounding teeth.
If you have a dental emergency, you need to be aware of how to handle it properly to ensure your teeth remain healthy and to help ease the pain that may have been caused by the emergency situation. Make an appointment right away with the emergency dentist if you end up with any type of dental emergency.
Contact an emergency dentist for more information.
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