The Most Common Dental Emergencies and What to do A serious dental emergency can occur at any time and when it happens, it is better to be prepared than to be caught unaware of what to do. Contacting your regular dentist in a timely manner is the most important thing when faced with an emergency dental situation but when the office is closed, there are only a few options available for you.
1. Tooth Injury
2. Severe Toothace
Any trauma to a tooth or the entire jaw classifies as a tooth injury. An injury may cause the tooth to be loosened up or even become removed from its normal position.
Toothaches that are unbearable should not be ignored. They usually signal serious problems like infection or decay. Depending on the toothache, rinsing with either cold or warm water can temporarily help.
4. Impaired braces If a wire in your braces has broken or come loose, it may poke and scrape your gums, cheeks or tongue. This calls for seeking emergency dental services with a dentist near you.
5. Abscesses Notice a painful swelling filled with pus on your gum? It could be an abscess, which is an infection that attacks a tooth’s root or the space between the gums and teeth.
3. Knockedout tooth If you have a knocked-out tooth due to some trauma or accident, you have little time to waste. The tooth can be re-fixed to its socket but only if it receives emergency care within 2 hours of being knocked out.
6. Cracked, Broken or chipped tooth Small cracks in the tooth can be fixed with filling. More serious cases may require procedures like a tooth extraction or root canal therapy.