The only thing worse than losing a tooth to infection and severe decay is losing a structure instantaneously through a physical accident. Indeed, dental emergencies are a concerning phenomenon, as their damage can range from mild surface-level chips to serious tooth loss and trauma. What’s more, emergencies can happen at any time to any given person, meaning having a plan of action is a must. In today’s blog, your Leawood, KS dentist discusses what to do in the event that you are suddenly caught in a dental emergency, as well as how our team can help.
Determining Who to Call
It goes without saying that emergencies can range in severity. For instance, an eating mishap can cause your tooth to chip or crack, such as when one eats a potato chip or hard item. Situations such as these hardly produce functional or health concerns, but can certainly blemish one’s appearance. Other examples that may venture on the severe end of damage, however, include physical accidents such as from a sporting event or simply falling face-first onto the pavement. Instances such as these may warrant either emergency dental care or immediate attention at a hospital, depending on a number of factors.
With examples such as these in mind, it is important to determine what exactly constitutes a dental emergency. While it differs from person to person, situations that may call for emergency treatment includes anything involving a dental fracture, breakage, severe toothache, knocked-out structures, when your teeth feel alarmingly loose, and forms of discomfort. If any of these situations appear to occur, please do not hesitate to reach out to our team today to learn your options.
Locate Dislodged Structures
When handling breakage of any kind, taking care to locate any teeth or pieces of a tooth that have been dislodged can play a critical role, especially if you bring it in to your visit. To best preserve these structures depends heavily on the situation. If an entire structure is knocked-out, take care to locate the structure and gently rinse it under warm water, taking care to keep any connected tissues in place. After this, you will want to place it in an air-tight container with either salt water or milk, and bring it with you to your visit.
In cases involving pieces or sections of a dislodged tooth, gather all sections you can and place them in an air-tight bag or container as well.
Someone Who Can Help You
Oftentimes emergency situations cause people to go into shock, or even require heavy use of sedation dentistry to address. Because of this, it is always a good idea to have someone in mind that can bring you to and from our office in the case of a dental emergency.
Schedule Your Emergency
While emergencies occur at any given time, you can still be prepared to pursue next steps. Contact Dreem Dentistry in Leawood, TX by calling 913-681-5500 to learn more or schedule your appointment with our team today.
