When You Need Emergency Dental Care

For emergencies that involve the teeth, you may need emergency dental care. Accidents may not always be preventable. According to some recent reports, there are more than half a million visits to the emergency room for dental related cases.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, more than half a million people go to the emergency room for dental conditions every year. What can be scary is that many emergency rooms cannot provide emergency dental care. If you lost a tooth, they may be able to provide any assistance, but there may be some things that you can do until you see your dentist.

There are a few facilities that are dedicated to providing emergency dental care, but before they are contacted in the case of severe accidents, the objective should be to try and contain the damage as much as possible. You may not be trained as dentist, and no one prepares for an accident, but prevention is always better than cure, than you cannot be too prepared with some items that you can put together as an emergency dental care kit.

The items should include Salt packets, Q-tips, gauze, a small container, a pack of sugar-free gum, and pain killers such as Ibuprofen. Be sure to include the telephone number of your dentist.

In the case of an accident that involves the mouth, such as the loss of a tooth, the first thing that should be done, is to rinse with warm salt water. Pain can be relieved with traditional non-prescription medications, such as Acetaminophen, Aspirin, Motrin or Tylenol. In the case of severe injuries where the inner layers of the tooth such as the dentin and nerves have incurred some damage, they can be covered with sugar free gum. There may also be some that contain sealants, that can protect the exposed area, but the effects may only last for 48 hrs.

Some incidents that may appear as emergencies, may be treated at home until professional care is available but if any of the following symptoms appear without incident, it may be time to seek assistance from emergency dental care facilities.

• Swelling of the face accompanied by a toothache, can indicate a tooth or gum infection, and should be treated as soon as possible.
• Uncontrollable bleeding after an extraction suggests that there may be some damage done, and if swelling of the mouth or face increases, it could be a sign of other serious conditions that deserve immediate attention.

If your tooth is dislodged or knocked on trauma, do not panic, there are some procedure available as part of emergency dental care that can save the tooth.

If you can retrieve the tooth, hold it by the crown and rinse it off with water. Try to put it back in the socket in the same position. Don’t try to force it. If it cannot be reinserted, put the tooth in a small container that contains milk or water with a pinch of salt. You can also use some material that promotes cell growth, such as Save-a-Tooth. The best chances of restoring teeth that have been knocked out are possible if you see your dentist with one hour.

Emergency dental care may save more than your teeth. By using any of the recommended emergency dental care procedures, you may curtail issues that can become life-threatening.