Atraffic accident, a slip, or a fall; any unexpected event can cause an unforeseen emergency. Like any emergency, dental emergencies need urgent care. In such a scenario, it is logical to consult a dentist or any healthcare worker. However, what if you face a dental emergency on a holiday, amid lockdown, or even in the middle of the night? Here’s what you can you do to manage it.
What is considered a dental emergency?
Any dental condition that requires urgent care, leads to severe pain, risk of infection, or even leads to life-threatening conditions, if not immediately attended to can be termed as dental emergencies.
Dental emergencies include :
● Uncontrolled bleeding from teeth or gums
● Cellulitis- swelling of one/both sides of the face or neck regions rapidly progressing and caused by oral or dental infection. It may be potentially life-threatening as it may cause difficulty in breathing due to obstruction in the airway.
● Trauma on facial bones or teeth caused due to accidental events like road traffic accidents, fall accidents, injury, blows, fights, etc.
Other dental emergencies which might not be life-threatening but need urgent care are :
● Severe pain due to tooth decay, infection in previously treated teeth, wisdom tooth inflammation, etc
● Abscess or localized infection leading to pain and swelling
● Knocked-out tooth due to trauma like in sports injuries, falls, traffic accidents, etc.
● Cracked or chipped tooth causing pain and sensitivity
● Partially extruded or dislodged tooth
● Objects stuck in the gum or between teeth(Eg, a fishbone)
● Lost filling or crown
Dental Emergency | What To Do?
In case of any dental emergency, it is imperative to take the person concerned to the emergency room or the dentist’s office immediately! Here are some things that can be done meanwhile to manage some common emergencies:
Severe Toothache
If you have a severe toothache due to a decayed tooth or infection, you should immediately call your dentist or dental office. Explain your symptoms and seek advice. Meanwhile, you need to clean your mouth with warm water and rinse thoroughly. Next, try cleaning your tooth with the floss if something seems to be stuck in your tooth. Apply cold compress or ice-pack from OUTSIDE or on your cheek near the tooth. DO NOT apply any warm or hot compress, as it will only worsen your condition and might even lead to swelling!! You may take over-the-counter painkillers to ease the pain, but it is advisable not to chew or place any pill on the tooth or the gum of the painful tooth.
Knocked-out tooth due to trauma
It is common for a tooth to get knocked out of its place after trauma. This is especially common in children after a sports injury, fall from their bicycles, fighting with their siblings, etc. In such a scenario, if it is a permanent tooth, the first step is to immediately try and find the tooth and retrieve it as it can be placed back.
Hold the tooth from its crown without touching its root portion and wash it under running tap water without scrubbing it. Now try to put it back into the tooth socket in the mouth without trying to force it too much. Make sure it is placed the correct way.
If you cannot fit it in the socket, place the tooth in a small container of cold milk or a tissue saving solution like Save-A-Tooth available in the pharmacy, and take the tooth and the patient immediately to the dentist’s office so that it can be re-inserted.
The international association of dental traumatology states that a tooth re-inserted within 1 hour has the highest chances to become viable again.
Abcess or swelling
An abscess is a swelling surrounding your tooth due to the collection of pus resulting from an infection. It is a potentially life-threatening condition because the infection might spread through the soft tissues to the neck region or other parts of your body and may lead to serious implications!! So if you observe a pimple-like bump on your gums, a small swelling near your decayed tooth, or swelling of the face externally, call your dentist immediately and schedule an appointment as soon as possible. Meanwhile, rinse your mouth with slightly warm water with a little salt. DO NOT APPLY warm compress from outside as it will intensify the swelling rapidly.
Bleeding gums or soft-tissue injuries
If you experience bleeding from your gums or teeth, do not panic!! Call your dentist right away and schedule an appointment. Next, rinse the mouth with some saline water and apply pressure on the bleeding spot with a gauze or cool piece of clean cloth to stop the bleeding. You can also use an ice pack from outside on your cheek. Continue holding the pressure pack against the bleeding spot until you reach the dentist’s office.
Cracked or chipped tooth
If you fell and chipped your tooth, first try to retrieve the broken piece of tooth. If you observe any bleeding, apply pressure with a gauze piece against the tooth and hold an ice-pack on the cheek to avoid swelling. If there’s any pain, you can take painkillers. See your dentist as soon as possible, as the tooth can usually be saved. If it’s a small piece, then a restoration might be enough, but in case of bleeding or a bigger piece, Root canal treatment with a crown can save the tooth.
Partially extruded tooth
If your tooth got partially dislodged or is there but extruded in its place, then see your dentist immediately. Do not try pushing the tooth in. It might cause injury to the underlying tissues.
Bitten Lip or Tongue
This often is seen in children as they fall very often. If you or your baby might have bitten your tongue or lips, causing bleeding, apply pressure with gauze. You can also use Ice-pack to stop the bleeding. If the bleeding does not stop, you must see a dentist immediately.
Object stuck in the gum or in between teeth
It is very common to get a fishbone or a fragment from that chicken stuck in between your teeth or gums. It may cause pain and burning sensation and may cause infection if not taken out immediately. You can use a floss to take out the object from your teeth. It is not advisable to use a toothpick or any sharp objects, which may hurt the gum inadvertently. If the item does not seem to come out and is causing pain, you should see your dentist.
A useful tip : if you have swelling or irritation in your gums after taking out the fragment from your teeth, you can dip your floss in some mouthwash and floss with it to relieve some of the discomfort.
Lost filling
Sometimes a previously done filling may get dislodged from the tooth. This is not an emergency, but you should schedule an appointment as soon as possible. Meanwhile, rinse your mouth thoroughly and floss the tooth to remove any food particles stuck..
A useful tip: You can insert some sugarless chewing gum in the cavity until your appointment.
Lost crown
A crown might be dislodged while you are biting down on your slice of pizza. It is not an emergency, but you must schedule a dental appointment as soon as possible. It is vital to keep the crown safe and take it back to the dentist so that he/she can fix it back. You may also try temporarily fixing the crown to your tooth by placing it back in place, but put some toothpaste, sugarless chewing gum, or denture adhesive on the opposite side before that. DO NOT use superglue!!!!
How to avoid any potential dental emergencies?
Maintaining a meticulous oral hygiene routine is the best way to prevent dental emergencies. It is also vital to go for regular dental check-ups so that your dentist can detect any potential decay, infection, disease, or loose fillings that might have the risk of causing you troubles. You need to follow your dentist’s instructions if you had any recent dental treatment. It is essential to watch for signs and pay attention to what your body might be trying to tell you before something turns emergent.
In case of any emergency, keep your calm and remember the first aid tips we just mentioned. Do not panic and reach out to your family physician/dentist immediately!!
