Visiting your dentist regularly can help to prevent issues developing. However, it doesn’t mean that you’ll never have a dental emergency. You may experience an infection that you didn’t previously know you had, you lay suddenly break a tooth, or you could have a number of other issues.
That’s why it’s important to know what to do in a dental emergency.
Find A Dentist Today
If you have an emergency you’re going to need a dentist quick. That means you need to find a reputable dentist in Alexandria, or your community, today. By adopting this approach you know you’ll have access to a dentist when you really need it.
Finding a dentist means having a check-up that could catch any issue before it becomes an emergency.
Be Calm
There are two times when you know you’re facing a dental emergency:
- You’ve broken a tooth
- You have toothache
Breaking a tooth is a sudden incident and you need to see a dentist immediately, it’s the best way of potentially saving the tooth. This is even more important if your tooth has come out whole.
Having bad toothache is a sign that you have an infection. This requires urgent treatment but you can manage the pain yourself for a short period. However, if you start to develop a fever you’ll need emergency assistant rapidly.
In either situation, you need to stay calm! Try taking a few deep breaths.
Protect The Tooth
If your tooth has come out you need to avoid holding the root, this will increase the chances of getting an infection if the tooth is put back in.
Instead, hold it by the crown, (the top part), and rinse it in water to remove any debris. Ideally, you should then place the tooth back into the empty socket in your mouth. If this isn’t possible, then you need to put it into a container of milk, this will help to keep it alive.
Deal With The Pain
You should put a cold compression on the site of the dislodged or infected tooth, this will help to keep inflammation and swelling down.
You can also take painkillers, however, it is important to keep a note of what you’ve taken, it may be relevant to the dentist.
You can also try natural pain relief such as chewing a clove, it may take the edge of the pain.
Call Your Dentist
Now you need to contact your dentist and explain that you have a dental emergency. You’ll need to tell them what has happened. They can then advise you whether to come into the dental practice or to get o the nearest hospital.
If you live very close to the dentist and you know they are open you may wish to head straight there. A dentist will always find time to deal with a dental emergency.
You’ll then have to pay attention to their follow-up care. Even if they can’t save the tooth they can guide you through fillings, crowns, or the implant process.