Dental Emergencies at Home Dental emergencies occur all the time and most of the time there isn’t a dentist around to help or it occurs outside your dental clinics working hours. Therefore, it is important to understand common dental emergencies and how to deal with them at home until you are able to see your dentist and visit a dental clinic close by.
The most common dental emergency that almost everyone experiences is a toothache. Most toothaches are transient and usually do not cause too much discomfort. However, if you are experiencing what you feel like is more than a passing toothache then you may want to the following advice. First, rinse your mouth with warm water with a small pinch of salt in it. Use floss to clean in between your teeth in order to remove any possible debris caught there and then rinse again with the salt water. If there is any kind of swelling, then apply a cold pack to your face in that area for 20 minutes and then remove for 20 minutes. Keep repeating until either the swelling goes down or you are able to seek dental care. Take Ibuprofen or an Ibuprofen substitute according to the directions on the bottle. Do not place any medications such as Aspirin directly on the area because this can cause a burn. Make sure to see your dentist as soon as possible. Another dental emergency you may run into is a canker sore. A canker sore is a white lesion that can appear on the tongue, cheeks or gums. It is usually surrounded by red tissue and is very painful to touch, especially when brushing or eating. The cause of canker sores is not completely understood but it is believed to be an autoimmune reaction. An oxygenating cleanser can help clean out any food particles stuck in the area and Oragard-13 can be used to seal in the sore, therefore providing enough relief for you to eat and brush. A canker sore will heal up on its own in 7-10 days and will not leave behind any scars. Another one of the dental emergencies is a knocked out tooth. If it is a baby tooth, then the chances of it being replaced are very slim. However, place it in milk or the patient’s saliva and bring it to the dentist right away in order to determine its fate. If it is an adult tooth, make sure you don’t touch the root. If the tooth has fallen out and has accumulated dirt, then gently rinse it off with water, while making sure you do not disturb the fibres on the root. Try to replace the tooth back into the socket it came out of and seek dental treatment immediately. If it cannot be replaced in the mouth, then again store it in milk or the patient’s saliva. Hopefully, these tips will help you with the most common dental emergencies that you might face. As always, any dental emergency should be seen by your dentist as soon as possible in order to improve the prognosis of your dental issue. If you are in the Langley area, then visit us here or call us today!