How can you prevent dental emergencies from happening?
The best way to prevent dental emergencies is to make sure you take good care of your teeth and gums. That means you need to be sure to brush and floss your teeth regularly -- two times each day for two minutes at a time minimum -- and use the correct oral care techniques.
Even if you brush and floss as often as you're supposed to, if you're not using the right techniques, you're not getting the best effects. The best way to find out whether you're using optimal techniques is speaking to your dental hygienist at Orthodontics and General Dentistry. Your hygienist can evaluate your technique and give you tips or pointers for improvement during your next regular checkup with Dr. Kasiri.
Regularly seeing Dr. Kasiri is also essential, because he can check for early signs of damage that could weaken teeth and make them more prone to trauma or other damage. You should also wear a custom mouthguard when playing contact sports or when involved in any activity that could potentially impact your mouth or teeth.
What should you do if your tooth gets knocked out?
If your tooth is knocked out, it's important to keep it moist. Ideally, place it gently back in the socket. If that's not possible, place it between your cheek and gum. Try not to touch the root portion of the tooth; handle it by the crown only using clean hands.
When your tooth is knocked out, call our office or head to the nearest emergency room for treatment right away. A tooth that's been knocked out may be able to be re-implanted, but getting immediate care is imperative since there's only about a one hour window of time to do it.
Aside from knocked out teeth, what else is considered a dental emergency?
Lots of issues can be considered emergencies, including:
- Broken teeth
- Broken dentures or bridges
- Lost fillings or crowns
- Swollen gums
- Painful infections
- Any injury that causes the tooth to protrude through the lip
- Any injury that causes jaw pain
If you have a dental emergency, please don't hesitate to contact Dr. Kasiri right away.
