Are You Experiencing a Dental Emergency?

If you or a loved one are experiencing a dental emergency or think you might be, seeking emergency dental care as soon as possible can make the difference between a speedy and full recovery and lasting and widespread damage. Knowing what is considered a dental emergency and what to do about it when one occurs can help you save your teeth and prevent infection.

For any dental emergency you may have, it’s essential you see your dentist in South Bend or go to the emergency room as soon as you can.

Ways to Avoid Dental Emergencies

You can avoid injuring your teeth by taking these basic precautions:

• When participating in recreational activities or sports, wear a mouthguard.
• Don’t chew hard candy, ice or popcorn kernels, as these can all crack, chip or fracture a tooth.
• Use the proper tools to cut and tear things; don’t use your teeth.

You’ll find dentists typically reserve parts of their day to handle dental emergencies. So, call your South Bend dentist whenever you have an emergency, even if it’s during the dental office’s regular hours of operation and you don’t have an appointment. Just give as much detail as you can about what you’re experiencing and your dentist can help you determine what to do about it.

How to Save a Tooth

By understanding the differences between non-urgent and urgent dental emergencies, you could potentially save a tooth. For instance, if you have a tooth knocked out, you should have an emergency dentist in South Bend treat it the same day. This applies even if the injury occurs outside of the dentist’s regular hours of operation. If you think you may need emergency dentistry, contact our office at The Dental Center of Indiana without delay.

In other cases, while a dental situation may still be an emergency, it may not be as urgent. To find out whether your circumstances constitute a dental emergency, call your dentist in South Bend and inquire. If the dentist does not need to see you immediately, he or she may give you tips on how to care for the issue in the meantime.

Urgent Dental Emergencies

If you have lacerations on your tongue, cheeks, lips or gums or you are in extreme mouth pain, you have a dental emergency. Give us a call and we’ll make sure we fit you into our schedule for the emergency dental care you need.

Urgent dental emergencies requiring immediate care include:

• Large chip or crack in a tooth
• Broken tooth or a tooth with a big piece missing
• Abscessed tooth
• Severe toothache
• Loose tooth
• Knocked-out tooth

The sooner you get treatment for a dental emergency, the lower the chances are that it will require oral surgery or other costly or intricate treatments later on. So, don’t take chances with your oral health; you’re better off safe than sorry. At The Dental Center of Indiana we offer emergency dental services in South Bend. Give us a call today to see how we can help you with your dental emergency.

Dealing With Common Dental Emergencies

How to Deal With a Toothache

Toothaches may just be caused by getting food stuck between your teeth. In such cases, simple flossing may take care of the problem. You can also swish your mouth with warm water. If the pain doesn’t go away, however, then call for an appointment with an emergency dentist. There may be a cavity the dentist has to fill or a chip the dentist can fit with a crown. For the least invasive treatment, act as quickly as possible to seek aid.

The dangers of a loose crown include the risk of ingesting or, less likely, inhaling it. Whether the crown can be restored or must be replaced depends on whether you’ve recovered the crown and how long it takes you to get emergency dental care.

How to Deal With an Abscessed Gum

Firstly, how not to handle abscessed gum is to pop it like a pimple. Instead, you should have your South Bend dentist drain it safely. Depending on how severe the infection is and how far it’s spread, you may also need root planing, scaling, a root canal or possibly even have your tooth removed.

One thing is for sure: a tooth abscess will not heal up on its own. If you have an abscessed tooth, call our office immediately to get the proper emergency dental treatment.

How to Deal With a Loose Tooth

If you have a loose tooth, there could be many reasons, potentially having to do with your gums, jaw, supporting tissue or even your other teeth. You could have receding gums, bone loss in the jaw or, if you recently had a tooth removed, it could have something to do with that. Alternatively, a loose tooth could come from sudden impact to the face.

Whatever the cause of your loose tooth, try to call us within 30 minutes for the most effective possible emergency dental treatment. If you still have the tooth, handle it by the crown only–or the surface that does the chewing; leave the root area alone. Otherwise, your dentist may not be able to replant the tooth in the socket.

How to Deal With a Cracked, Chipped or Broken Tooth

If your tooth has cracked, chipped or broken, call us for emergency dental care right away. While waiting for your appointment, you can help deal with the pain by rinsing your mouth using warm water and placing a cold compress on your cheek. Do not, however, place crushed aspirin on the tooth; this can damage your tooth enamel and gums.

Closing Thoughts

As dental concerns continue going untreated, the likelihood of permanent tooth or mouth damage or the need for costly and intensive treatments increases. To keep dental emergencies at bay, take proper care of your teeth. That means committing to a daily dental practice of brushing and flossing, seeing your dentist for regular checkups and dental cleanings and protecting your teeth, mouth and face from impact.