What Are the Different Types of Dental Emergencies?

Dental emergencies can be traumatizing, as they happen unexpectedly and often require immediate treatment. Prompt treatment can help save your teeth and prevent further damage. Listed below are some common dental emergencies and what can be done about them.

Knocked Out Tooth

If your tooth has been knocked out, call your dentist immediately to have the tooth stabilized. In the meantime, rinse your mouth out with warm water and apply a cold compress to the outside of the cheek to reduce swelling. If possible, try to put the tooth back in the socket without touching the root to prevent further damage to the root. Then, get to the dentist right away! This scenario is an emergency because your tooth can be reimplanted if it is treated within one hour of being knocked out. After two hours, the chances of successful replantation are greatly diminished. When a tooth is not replaced in the socket within an hour, it will rarely stay intact on its own. In this case, the dentist will suture it in place until an appointment can be made for oral surgery.

Abscess

An abscess is a pimple-like bump filled with pus that can appear anywhere in the mouth, including the gums or teeth. It can be painful when touched and can cause fevers, chills, facial swelling, bad breath, and pain when you chew or move your mouth. If an abscess is left untreated, it can lead to tooth decay and even tooth loss. Treatment for an abscess generally includes deep cleaning, antibiotics, and drainage of the infection.

Broken Tooth

A broken tooth is a common emergency that can be painful and cause bleeding if cracked or chipped. If the pain becomes unbearable or if a tooth has been knocked out completely, you should head to the emergency room for treatment. Otherwise, you can rinse your mouth with warm water and then apply a cold compress to the exterior of the mouth. You can also take some over-the-counter painkillers to help with the pain and swelling. You should avoid chewing on the tooth until you can come in to see us. In the meantime, try eating soft foods that don’t require too much biting force. You can try out different foods to see what’s most comfortable.

Chipped Tooth

Teeth can be chipped for a number of reasons, including accidental falls, sports injuries, or even chewing on hard objects such as ice, pencils, fingernails, etc. If a large piece of the tooth breaks off, you can try rinsing your mouth with salt water to help clean the area and reduce the risk of infection. However, if the chip is small, it may be best to wait to come in for an appointment. 

Lost Filling

A lost filling is another common dental emergency. If you’ve lost the filling on your tooth, it’s recommended that you come into our office right away so that Dr. Vo can clean the area and offer you a temporary filling until you’re able to come in for a permanent replacement. In the meantime, it’s important that you avoid chewing or biting on the tooth where the filling was lost because the exposed nerve endings can be very sensitive to pressure. This could lead to pain and inflammation that requires treatment from one of our dentists in Torrance.

Intense Tooth Pain

It’s not easy to live your life when you are experiencing intense tooth pain. If you’re experiencing this kind of pain, the first thing you need to do is call our office to schedule a same-day appointment so that we can make a proper diagnosis and determine the cause of the problem. From there, we will be able to recommend an appropriate treatment plan to help get you out of pain and back to living your life as usual.

To learn more about our dental services or to schedule a consultation with our dentist at our practice located at 2711 S Parker Rd., Aurora, CO 80014, call H&M Family Dentistry at (303) 353-9611. We will be happy to assist you further.