Dental Emergencies

Emergencies can be stressful. Dental emergencies are no exception. They are painful and frightening. Prompt treatment is necessary to address the pain and to make sure your teeth have the best possible chance to survive.

There are several reasons for emergencies. Your teeth can be fractured by trauma, biting hard or grinding. There can be situations where crowns, fillings or restorative devices become damaged or fall from the mouth. If you are experiencing severe pain, you need to contact Silver Smile Dental right away so we can provide you immediate attention. Pain resulting from dental emergencies worsens without treatment, and as you know, dental issues can jeopardize your overall physical wellness.

Avulsed Tooth

If you have had a tooth knocked completely out of the mouth, you have to get to a dentist right away. When a tooth exits your mouth, you can expect nerves, blood vessels and tissues to be damaged. If your tooth can get put back in the socket within an hour, there is a chance that tissues will regrow to support the tooth again.

Here is What You Need to Do:

• Call Silver Smile Dental immediately.
• Pick up the tooth by its crown and rinse it off using warm water. Don’t touch the root of the tooth.
• If possible, place the tooth back into the socket. Otherwise, tuck it into your cheek pouch.
• If you can’t get the tooth back in the mouth, it should be put in a cup of milk, saliva or as a last resort, water. Make sure the tooth doesn’t dry out.
• Get to Silver Smile Dental quickly and safely so we can help.

We will try to put the tooth back into its natural socket. There will be instances when the tooth will reattach, but if there is serious damage to the inner mechanisms of the tooth, we may have to recommend root canal therapy.

Broken or Cracked Teeth

Your teeth are very strong, but they can still be cracked, broken or fractured. Sometimes a fracture is relatively painless, but if the crack reaches down into the root, it is likely you will start experiencing extreme discomfort. Fractures, breaks, and cracks can take many different forms, but most often they are the result of biting, grinding and trauma. If you have a tooth to fracture of crack, your only option is to schedule an immediate appointment with Silver Smile Dental.

If a segment of tooth has been broken off, you need to do these things:

• Call Silver Smile Dental.
• Rinse off the tooth fragment and the mouth using lukewarm water.
• If there is bleeding, apply gauze to the area for about 10 minutes.
• To minimize pain and swelling, place a damp, cold dish towel to the cheek.
• Get over-the-counter dental cement to cover the area in instances when you cannot see us right away.
• Take a topical pain medication.

We are limited by what we can do dependent upon the nature of the fracture or the break. If a crack or fracture extends down into the root, the most effective way to keep the tooth is by root canal therapy. If there has been a complete break, your dentist may affix the fragment back on the tooth as a precautionary and temporary measure.

Dislodged or Loose Teeth

When decay or trauma has loosened or dislodged a tooth, it may be saved. If the tooth stays in the mouth where it is connected to the nerves and blood vessels, there is a significant chance that a root canal may not be required.

You should call Silver Smile Dental right away to schedule an emergency appointment. During the meantime, you should use a cold compress and over-the-counter pain medications. Your dentist will reposition the tooth and stabilize it with splints. If the tooth doesn’t properly heal, a root canal may be necessary.