A dental emergency can happen when you least expect it. That’s why our South Surrey general dentist’s office keeps some appointment slots open each day for unexpected guests.
There is some good news: dental emergencies are seldom life-threatening in the way that other medical emergencies can be. But here’s the thing: they can be life-altering if not handled in an appropriate manner. To ensure the happiest ending for yourself, it helps to have a basic grasp on what you should do when faced with an unanticipated crisis.
As such, for today’s post, we have outlined some common situations (keep reading). If you are currently experiencing any of these, or if you have a problem that is not listed but still worrisome, call White Rock Dental Group (at 604-635-1695 ext 1) as soon as you possibly can.
Lost Or Loose Tooth
Make no mistake: tooth loss can happen on the job, in a vehicular accident, at the gym, by the pool, basically anywhere. Regardless of the set and setting, losing a tooth will be a painful, scary, and traumatic experience. Your job will be to try to remain calm, cool, and collected! We can not stress enough that your reaction time is crucial when attempting to save a dislodged tooth.
If you are able to locate the tooth, pick it up by the crown rather than the root, lightly rinse it off, and place the tooth in milk. Then, head to our office as quickly as you can.
If you have a loosened-up tooth, do your best to leave it alone. By all means, please do not eat anything or play with it using your tongue.
Cracked Or Chipped Tooth
If you ponder it for a minute, you will begin to realize that there are many things that can cause you to chip or even break a tooth. You can fall flat on your face or try to use your teeth as bottle openers or in place of other tools. Biting into popcorn, candy, rib bones, or ice can cause real damage too. Old amalgam fillings can also wear out and cause a piece of your tooth to break off while you are in the midst of chewing something tasty.
Regardless of how it happens, and even if there isn’t any pain, never ignore this sort of problem. That’s because when you chip or break a tooth, you can expose the dentin and dental pulp, putting yourself at risk for a root canal or worse. Let us know what is going on and we will do what we can to get you back on the good road.
Self-Inflicted Bites
If you accidentally bite your tongue, lips, or any other part of your mouth, it will certainly hurt, but you may not need to come in unless it is really bad.
Start by calmly working on cleaning the area that you cut and securing some sort of ice pack or cold compress. In most instances, the bleeding will stop before too long. If you have damaged your gum, tongue, cheek, or other mouth tissue and need help stopping the bleeding, please call us as soon as possible. Dr. Rogers would rather hear from you than not, so that we can assess the situation and come up with a workable solution.
You Make The Call!
We hope that the above information has been insightful. The big takeaway for today is that you always have a partner for oral health in South Surrey general dentist Dr. Rogers. If you think you have a dental emergency, call White Rock Dental Group today at 604-635-1695 ext 1 for an expedited appointment. For medical emergencies, head to the nearest hospital. For regular dental appointments, feel free to contact us online.