What is considered a dental emergency?

A dental emergency is any injury or accident that causes damage to the teeth or the mouth. Emergency dentistry is specifically focused on dealing with this type of injury or damage. Typically, this will include replacing broken fillings or crowns or even setting teeth back into place after they have been knocked out.

Defining a Dental Emergency

A dental emergency occurs when an injury directly affects the mouth and the teeth. This can include lacerations to the lips, cheeks, or tongue, as well as damage to the teeth. Some of the most common causes of dental emergencies include:

• Falls
• Automobile accidents
• Contact sports
• Bicycle accidents
• Any sort of trauma to the face

If you have fallen or been in an accident and have damaged your mouth or teeth, you should see an emergency dentist as soon as possible, especially in the case of an avulsed tooth. If the tooth can be replaced as soon as possible, it is more likely that you will be able to keep it rather than having to have the tooth replaced with an implant or a denture.

What to Do in the Case of a Dental Emergency

If you hurt your mouth or teeth, evaluate the damage to determine how severe it is. If a tooth has been knocked out, or if cuts or lacerations are causing extensive bleeding, you should see an emergency dentist as soon as possible, or go directly to the emergency room. If a crown or a filling has broken or been knocked loose, schedule an appointment as soon as you can to have it replaced.

Ideally, you should have a first aid kit specifically for dental emergencies. In addition to gauze to stop bleeding, it should include toothpaste or a dental adhesive to hold a dislodged filling or crown in place. It is also useful to have a special kit that can be used to preserve a knocked-out tooth. With this kind of preparation and immediate access to an emergency dentist in the case of an emergency, you can expect a good recovery in the long run.

For more tips, contact our office at Serenity Dental Studio today!