Dental emergencies are uncomfortable and unpredictable experiences that can completely change your day in a matter of seconds. Despite what some people may think, these emergencies are fairly frequent and unfortunately, many people don’t know how to react when they experience one. In this article you will find information about how to treat some of the most popular emergencies and when it is necessary to visit an emergency dentist.
Are dental emergencies as bad as people say?
Our teeth are a part of our body that we often take for granted. Despite being unappreciated by some, your teeth are responsible in the first place for letting you chew your food. Other processes influenced by your teeth are speech and social interactions. Thus, anything that compromises the integrity of your teeth also affects all these spheres of your life. This is mainly why dental emergencies are so incapacitating, before even considering the pain.
You have a knocked-out tooth
This is one of the most common dental emergencies and is mostly caused by trauma. For patients experiencing dental trauma, the most important thing is to try to keep the tooth viable. This means preventing it from dying. To do so, if you have found the knocked-out tooth you should grab it by the crown (never by the roots), rinse it with water and try to reinsert it into the socket. This is not for the faint of heart. If inserting the knocked-out tooth back in the socket seems too gruesome for you, then store the tooth in a container with milk to try to preserve it and consult an emergency dentist in Saskatoon. In some cases, not even this level of care is enough to salvage the tooth and it may be time to consider some teeth replacement options like dentures or teeth implants.
Your tooth is chipped
A chipped tooth is another dental emergency that happens frequently with people who eat hard foods, or due to direct trauma. If this happens to you, it is important to rinse your mouth with some warm water to try and retrieve all of the pieces of your chipped tooth. When this happens, it is possible for some bleeding to occur. If this is your case, you should look for some moist gauze and bite on it to control the bleeding. Once you visit a dentist, there are different ways the treatment can transpire. If the tooth is not too damaged, your dentist can perform a filling to salvage it. On the contrary, if the tooth is extensively damaged, then a dental crown might be needed.
Wisdom teeth pain
Those who have suffered from wisdom teeth pain know how irritating it can be. This pain can be a result of many issues such as cavities, impacted wisdom teeth, and even cysts. If you are experiencing what you believe to be wisdom teeth pain, don’t doubt to visit a dentist in Saskatoon. You can’t do much before arriving to the dental office beyond taking some over-the-counter pain relievers and applying some ice to the area.
Tooth abscess
A tooth abscess is a collection of pus that forms in a tooth’s root. Some of the symptoms are very severe pain, fever, and swelling of the area. The pain caused by an abscess doesn’t improve with over-the-counter medication. The only way to relieve it is by draining the abscess and that can only be done by a dentist. This is why if you have these symptoms you should go to a dental clinic as soon as possible. Otherwise, the infection can spread and cause more trouble.