Existing Patients: 01384 378361
Most people will experience some kind of dental emergency during their lifetime, so knowing what to do when one arises can be important in preventing permanent damage, lengthy treatment and costly dental bills. If you experience a dental emergency, it is always best to react quickly and try to make sure the situation doesn’t become worse. Here are some of the ways to handle common dental emergencies.
First of all, retrieve the tooth and lightly rinse it off, if any impurities have become attached to it. Avoid scrubbing or removal of any attached tissue fragments. If it’s possible to put the tooth back, replace it and make sure it is properly oriented. If replacement is difficult or impossible, place the tooth in a small container of milk or water with table salt. It is really important to arrange an appointment with your dentist as soon as you can, if you get a quick emergency consultation the chances are good that your tooth can be saved. As the time lengthens after tooth knockout, the chances of successfully saving the tooth reduce.
if a tooth becomes chipped or broken, retrieve all pieces that you can find and rinse out the mouth with warm water. If bleeding, apply gauze to the affected area until it stops. Apply some kind of cold compress to the area outside the mouth where the tooth was damaged, so that swelling is minimised. Arrange to see your dentist as soon as possible.
The first step is to rinse out your mouth with warm salt water and then use dental floss to clean out between the teeth. If there is swelling, apply a cold compress to the outside of the mouth in the area affected. Don’t apply aspirin or painkillers directly to the affected tooth, they can dissolve and burn the gum tissue. Contact your dentist and arrange for an appointment as soon as possible.
If a filling or crown should fall out, make a dental appointment as soon as possible and in the meantime slip the crown back over the tooth and keep it in place with a denture adhesive or temporary cement available from most chemists.
If you have a dental emergency, call us on 01384 378361, we have daily emergency appointments available and will always do our utmost to see you on the same day.
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