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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Dental Emergencies

There is never a good time to suffer from a chipped, broken, or otherwise damaged tooth.

Sometimes, excruciating tooth pain can arise due to trauma or seemingly out of nowhere.  Toothaches, broken teeth, missing fillings, and irritated gums are just a few of the reasons you should seek immediate help from a dentist. Any injury to teeth or gums should not be ignored!
Here are a few tips should you have a dental emergency of your own:
1.   My lip,tounge, gums are injured or bleeding!
When you bite your tongue or lip, or cut your gums; clean the bitten area with a piece of cotton or cloth. If swelling occurs, compress a cold pack over the injured area. Infection is always a concern so make sure see your dentist as soon as possible.


     2.   I have a cracked or broken tooth!
If you break a tooth, rinse your mouth thoroughly with some warm water, and avoid swallowing the broken parts. To minimize edema, compress cold pack on the affected area. Don’t hesitate to call your dentist at once.

If your tooth is cracked; your treatment depends on location and size of the crack. Most types of tooth cracks are tiny and won’t cause you trouble. Treatment of the cracked teeth usually varies from using a filling dental material to seal the crack to treating the cracked tooth endodontically. Unfortunately, extraction is needed for severely cracked teeth. Minor teeth cracks are usually diagnosed during routine dental examination.


3.   I think my jaw may be fractured or broken!
If you suspect that your jaw is fractured, apply cold pack against the area of swelling to control edema, and go immediately to nearest hospital emergency department. If you start to feel pain take any type of analgesics except aspirin (as it increases the bleeding tendency).

Symptoms of a broken jaw are:
Pain and swelling
Malocclusion (teeth don’t fit or occlude together)
Numbness in lower lip and chin
Intra-oral bleeding
Bruises around the injured area


   4.  What happens if my tooth is knocked out?!

Please, don't panic.
Simply hold the tooth from the crown and rinse the root with warm water or saline. Avoid scrubbing the tissue fragments on the root. If possible, insert the tooth back in its socket or put it under your tongue. Be careful to avoid swallowing it. Else wise, you can keep the knocked tooth in a glass of milk and hurry up to your dentist. Of course, don’t forget to take the glass of milk with you!

 
5.   There is something stuck between my teeth and it hurts! 
 
If there is an object stuck between your teeth, try to remove it gently with dental floss. Don’t ever try to remove it with a sharp instrument to avoid cutting your gums. Call your dentist
if you fail to dislodge it.

 
  
   6. I have a toothache!Suffering from a toothache is very annoying. Most dental diseases are manifested with toothaches. If you are having a toothache, clean your mouth with warm water; also use dental flossing and teeth brushing to ensure there are no food remnants caught between your teeth. Don’t ever try to control toothache by putting an aspirin or any type of analgesic against your gingival or buccal mucosa, to avoid burning your oral tissues.