Dental emergencies can strike when you least expect them. Knowing how to respond to a dental emergency will help you use every minute to help lessen the stress and pain associated with the situation. Knowing who to call and what to do after experiencing a dental emergency ensures that you can take action right away. In this article, our team at Aspire Dental breaks down the types of dental emergencies and what you can do when they arise.
Common Types of Dental Emergencies
Here are the most common types of dental emergencies that we see at our dental clinic near you:
- Broken tooth: sometimes, an injury to the mouth can result in a broken tooth. If this happens, try to find all the fragments of your tooth so that you can bring them with you to our clinic. Clean the injured area with warm water, and compress the injury site with a cold washcloth until you can get to an emergency dental clinic near you.
- Severe toothache: a painful toothache can indicate an infection or dental abscess in the mouth, Rinse out your mouth with warm salt water to disinfect it, and use a cold compress to help with swelling.
- Loss of tooth: if you are involved in an injury that results in a knocked-out tooth, take action immediately. Find the tooth, and touching only the crown, place it back into the socket. You may need to hold it in place. If you cannot get the tooth back into the socket, place it in a cup of milk to preserve it until you can see our dentist in Sherwood Park.
- Mouth injuries: other forms of mouth injuries may warrant immediate medical attention. If the trauma results in jaw injury, the jawline may appear distorted. Keep your face as still as possible and seek emergency dentistry in Sherwood Park as soon as you can.
Where to Go and Who to Contact
Most dental offices have regular office hours in which they assist and treat patients. If you are faced with a dental emergency after-hours, patients can call an after-hours emergency number to get help. Our team at Aspire Dental is happy to provide emergency dental services.
While you can visit a regular emergency room for dental emergencies, it is best to try to find an emergency dental clinic first, as they have the correct expertise and tools to get you the help you need.
What is Not a Dental Emergency?
Sometimes, an injury may occur that is not considered a dental emergency. For example, a soft tissue injury such as a cut inner cheek or bitten lip might occur. In this case, apply firm pressure to the site of the injury to control bleeding. If swelling or bruising happens, use a cold compress. As long as the bleeding stops and none of your teeth are loose, it is not considered a dental emergency. However, it would be best if you still were sure to schedule a checkup with your dentist in the near future. If you are uncertain as to whether an injury is a dental emergency, call your dentist’s emergency number and speak with a health professional for advice.
Visit Aspire Dental
If you are ever faced with a dental emergency, please do not hesitate to visit our team at Aspire Dental. We will work calmly and efficiently to address your concerns and ensure that you get the immediate treatment and care you need. Please don’t live in pain; visit our team today!