What to Do in a Dental Emergency

Slips, trips, and falls happen. Accidents are a part of life, and occasionally, those accidents may involve injuries to your mouth, teeth, gums or other parts of your mouth. While many people have some training, or at least a little knowledge about what to do for other injuries, not everyone knows what to do when a dental emergency strikes. Remember that after you have applied dental first aid, your first phone call should be to your dentist. You need to make an appointment to have your problem treated, and in some cases, time is of the essence.

If you have lost a tooth, rinse it off with cool water. Do not touch the roots, but try to fit it back into the socket. If you can, hold it in place by gently biting down on it through a piece of gauze. If you cannot place it in the socket, place it in milk, a tooth-preserving solution, of between your cheek and gums until you can see your dentist. To save the tooth, your dentist needs to see you within 30 minutes, although the tooth may remain value for up to two hours. If you break a tooth, rinse the area with warm water, and use a cold compress to reduce any swelling, if necessary. Again, you should see your dentist as soon as you can.

If you have a toothache, you can treat the pain with an over-the-counter pain reliever, but do not apply aspirin directly to your tooth. You can try flossing around the tooth to see if you can remove any food particles that are lodged there.

If you have injured your lips or tongue, clean the injury and apply direct pressure to the wound. If the bleeding does not stop, go to the emergency room.

You can hold a loose crown or filling in place with dental cement. A cavity can be filled with temporary filling material or cotton pellets which are available in many retail outlets.

If you have a dental emergency, it is time for your regular cleaning and exam, or if you are just looking for a family dentist, Dr. Roger Druckman will be happy to see you! To make an appointment at Roger Druckman, DDS PC in Denver, Colorado call 303-691-2860 today.