You’re going along with your day and all of a sudden – WHAM! You find yourself suffering from a dental trauma. Are you prepared for it? Do you know what to do? Your emergency dentist in downtown Portland is weighing in to guide you through the process. As you continue reading, she’ll discuss some of the more common dental emergencies and what you should do if you find yourself in such an unfortunate situation.
What is a Dental Emergency?
A dental emergency is a sudden occurrence that makes a negative impact on your oral health and leaves you in need of immediate care.
If you find yourself in a dental emergency, here are the first two steps you should take:
- Relax – As cliché as it may sound, the first step is to take a deep breath and try not to panic. This is vital because you want to take the right initial steps to help sustain the situation as quickly as possible.
- Contact Your Dentist – As soon as you can, reach out to your local emergency dentist when there is trauma. He will be able to let you know, based on the situation, how you should proceed.
Examples of Dental Emergencies
Now that you know the first two steps to take in case of a dental emergency, let’s look at some common types of oral trauma.
We’ll also discuss what you can do to stabilize the situation until you can be seen by your dentist:
- Knocked-Out Tooth – If your tooth is knocked out of your mouth, that’s a definite dental emergency. Until you can be seen, you should wash your hands and then grab the tooth by the crown (the larger, rounded part), rinse it in cool water, and re-insert it into its proper position.
- Cracked/Fractured Tooth – In the event of a chipped or broken tooth, you may experience some initial pain, but your saliva will help to re-mineralize the tooth’s enamel over the next few hours to reduce your sensitivity. You should also be sure not to chew any food on the side of the damaged tooth.
- Oral Bleeding – If you have excessive bleeding in your mouth, be sure to keep your head above your heart, especially while sleeping.
- Food or Object Lodged Between the Teeth – After contacting your dentist, to get some temporary relief you can use dental floss to carefully remove the wedged item.
- Toothache – For temporary relief from a toothache, you can apply ice to the outside of your face around the area where the swelling and pain are. In addition to that, you can take ibuprofen for some pain relief.
- Severe Pain in the Jaw – If you’ve taken a blow to the jaw or struck it due to a fall and are experiencing severe pain, you should immediately head to your local emergency room.
Although they’re no fun at all, emergencies are bound to happen in life. If you find yourself in such a situation, you now know how to act accordingly. If you have other questions, your dentist in downtown Portland is available to answer them for you.
About the Author
Dr. Megan Block earned her DDS degree from Texas A&M Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, Texas. She has since gone on to become a positive asset to the dental health of the people of downtown Portland. Dr. Block practices at River Place Dental and can be reached for more information through her website.