How to Handle a Dental Emergency

Quick! If you’re clicking onto here because someone just knocked out a tooth, find it immediately, hold it by the crown (don’t touch the roots) and rinse it with water before placing the tooth back into its original position (even if it’s bleeding). Have their mouth closed with a clean cloth, napkin, or gauze to keep the tooth in place, and remain calm. The best chance of saving a tooth is within the first 20 minutes. If you can’t put the tooth back into its original position, submerge the tooth into a liquid – preferably the person’s saliva, but water, milk, coconut water or saline is fine. DO NOT leave the tooth in the mouth, it might get swallowed, and if it’s a baby tooth – do not put it back in! See a dentist as soon as you can.

Okay, now that we have the emergency sorted – take a deep breath. Hello! Welcome to another blog from True Smiles Dental where this time, we’ll be discussing how to handle a dental emergency, what to expect after, and how to look after your tooth. Pain comes in many different forms, but the best way to save your tooth starts with seeing a dentist early. If you start having pain persistently – don’t brush it away, have it checked first. Try to remember when the pain started, what type of pain it is, and if it’s prompted by something – the more information you can tell us, the more accurate our diagnosis will be.

What to look out for

To check if something you or someone else is experiencing is abnormal, here are a few signs to lookout for:

• Severe, persistent pain:
  • If you feel a cold sharp pain spontaneously throughout the day, when you’re eating or biting – see a dentist.
  • If you have a dull throbbing sensation on your tooth – see a dentist as soon as you can. It might be an indication that your tooth is infected or the nerve is dying.
• Broken or cracked tooth
  • If there is a physical crack on the tooth or pieces of your tooth that have chipped off – save the pieces and see a dentist soon. The longer you leave it the less likely you can save it. We may be able to attach it back to the tooth.
• Facial swelling
  • If you notice facial swelling in young children with a history of reported intense pain, fever and/or difficulty breathing – please see a dentist or a dental hospital immediately. Facial swelling in young children is critical, due to their small bodies it may spread quickly to critical organs and lead to life threatening conditions.
  • For adults, facial swelling could be an indication that an infection is occurring from a tooth. Have a dentist look at the tooth at your soonest convenience so we can determine if you require antibiotics and the treatment necessary to reduce and stop the swelling.
• Abscess or pimple-like bump
  • We recommend regularly checking your kids’ teeth, not only to see if they have done a good job brushing their teeth, but for any signs of lumps or pimples on their gums. If you do notice these lesions – see a dental practitioner as soon as you can, this is an early sign of an infection that could potentially lead to facial swelling and other severe consequences if left for too long.
  • In adults, pimple-like lesions should be notified to your dental provider for monitoring, especially if you have a history of smoking, erupting wisdom teeth, or pain associated with a lesion. Try to remeber if you had these lesions for a while, or if they have only recently appeared – it helps us figure out what it might be!
• Difficult breathing or swallowing
  • If the person of concern has any allergies and may have recently eaten something they may be anaphylactic to, immediately find an EpiPen. Orang to the thigh – blue to the sky and call an ambulance for help.
  • For children with signs of facial swelling, they may also experience difficulty swallowing or breathing as a result of an infection spreading. Once again, please see a dental professional immediately.

What to Expect During the Appointment

To help us diagnose what sort of pain you might be having and what we can do to help, we recommend not taking any pain relief before the appointment. Some of the tests we run to investigate the root of your pain may require you to let us know which tooth is in pain, if you aren’t able to feel much it makes our diagnosis a little more difficult. If your appointment isn’t until a few days, take some pain relief, but just not in the hours leading up to the appointment. We’ll be asking you a few questions too, so please let us know if you have any concerning medical conditions and what medications you’re currently taking.

When figuring out what the pain may be, here’s what we might do:

• Take x-rays and photos
• Examine and poke your teeth and gums
• Tap on your teeth
• Apply a cold object temporarily
• Bite down on plastic

Based on the information we collect; we’ll be able to provide a prognosis and plan for how to (hopefully) fix your teeth.

What to expect after

If your dentist has prescribed you any medication, don’t save it for next time and finish the course of antibiotics. If the bacteria aren’t entirely eradicated from your body, it may come back stronger and will require a stronger course of antibiotics to be properly treated. Occasionally after having your tooth treated, possibly with a filling, pain and sensitivity may still be present for a few days – that’s normal. If the pain is still present after two weeks, see your dentist again for a review. If your tooth has been dislodged or moved from its original position, it’s vital to attend recall appointments to allow us to monitor the tooth and make sure we can catch any early interventions or referrals early.

How to contact us

At True Smiles Dental, we try our best to keep you happy and to keep your smile bright and healthy. We believe that the chances of having to visit the dentist in pain can be reduced with preventative treatment, such as fissure sealants in young children, and mouthguards to wear while playing sport.  If you’re ever in pain, please your local dentist or dental hospital as soon as possible – the earlier we see you, the more help we can give you. Please contact us on (02) 7228 7272, if you have any questions or concerns, or book online at https://truesmilesdental.com.au/appointments.

Thank you for tuning in today! We’ll see you next time for another blog.