“How does a little pain suddenly become an emergency?”
It is because we don’t take dental problems as seriously as other health problems and ignore the little knocks they make from time-to-time and then suddenly, we are totally clueless and then an emergency happens.
We regularly keep a track on other health issues like blood pressure, weight, asthma, etc. but, when it comes to dental health, we generally take it for-granted till it actively starts affecting our lives.
What is a dental emergency?
A dental emergency is a problem related to dental health that needs to be taken care of with urgency in mind or that needs an immediate response.
It includes:
1) Sudden unbearable pain in teeth, gums or adjoining muscles
2) Unstoppable bleeding
3) Not being able to chew food cause of cracked or knock-out teeth
4) Injury in soft tissues like the lips, inside of cheeks, gums, etc.
What should be the first step in case of a dental emergency?
Dental health doesn’t only include teeth, but it takes jaw, lips, gums and other soft tissues too in its domain because they all are interconnected to each other.
So, this also indicates that the range of dental health problems and emergencies is also wide.
Some of the dental emergencies and their first-aids are mentioned below:
● Knocked out tooth- “A knocked- out tooth could be retrieved back to its original place within an hour.”
In case, your tooth gets broken from its root suddenly, the first thing you do is to pick it up from its crown part and put it in a bowl filled with fresh “milk”. Now, contact your dentist or visit him/her within an hour. The dentist can then reinsert your teeth in its original position.
● Severe toothache- The person should rinse his mouth with warm water and in case of swelling, should use a cold compress to get some relief over pain. Now, you can also take some over-the-counter painkillers like “ ibuprofen, acetaminophen, etc.”
After doing all this, one should seek to their nearby dentist as soon as they can.
● Dental Abscess- It’s a bacterial infection that affects the gums, soft tissues of the mouth or inner area of cheeks. It looks like a red, swollen bump, pimple and is filled with pus. It’s a serious problem and could even spread to other areas of the body, if not treated right and on time. Abscesses won’t get healed on their own and need urgent supervision to get the right treatment.
Some of the causes of Abscesses could be:
1) Smoking
2) Xerostomia (dry mouth)
3) Poor oral hygiene
4) Immunocompromisation (a weak immune system)
● Broken dental restoration- Sometimes, an already treated tooth, means a restoration in a tooth gets damaged, broken-off or dislodged.
It could happen in two ways:
1) Broken or missing filling, then filled it immediately with a sugarless gum or over-the-counter dental cement.
2) Broken dental crown or bridge, in this case try to tick the restoration back to its place using an over-the-counter dental cement or toothpaste. The dentist’s guidance is needed after sticking the restoration back, as this is a temporary solution.
●Severe soft tissue injury- Soft tissues include lips, tongue, gums and cheeks. They could get injured by a cut, a blemish, etc. In order to stop bleeding in them a person could do the following thing:
1) Rinsing the mouth with salt-water solution.
2) Applying pressure over the injury by a caffeinated tea bag a it contains tannic acid that helps to stop bleeding by contracting the blood vessels.
3) Put a cold compress over the injury.
Besside doing these all steps, consulting a dentist is very important to prevent any infection or further damage.
Where to seek treatment from?
Now, after understanding the need and significance of dental health and a dentist’s consultation, a question is definitely arising in your mind……
Where could a dentist near me be the right choice in case of an emergency?
Firstly, saving the National dental emergency number of your particular country could be of great help. Every country has its own emergency numbers for different emergencies so does for dental emergencies.
Furthermore, saving up the details like helpline number and location of nearby dental clinics in your area will help a lot in case of an emergency because in a state of panic and pain it definitely becomes hard to search for the ideal doctor near you, who is recognised and experienced.
In conclusion, dental health is not something we should ignore because it could disturb our daily life if it gets damaged. Also, keeping in mind the first steps to take in what kind of dental emergency could save us from a lot of further damage and pain. At last, no matter how much first aid you feel like you can perform, always go to your dentist or contact him/her after them.
