Handling a dental emergency can happen when you least expect it. This seems to be especially true during the holiday season. That’s why you will want to have a good relationship with a dynamic dentist’s office in Shorewood, IL, just in case you ever find yourself in trouble.
In the grand scheme, dental emergencies are seldom life-threatening in the way that other medical emergencies can be. Still, they can be life-altering (and not in a good way) if not handled in an appropriate and efficient manner.
Read on to hear more about some common situations that can arise, and then be sure to add our Shorewood Family Dental Care phone number to your emergency contact list!
Dislodged Tooth
Tooth loss can happen on the job, in a car crash, at the gym, by the pool, pretty much anywhere. Whenever or wherever it happens, losing a tooth will be a painful, scary, and traumatic experience. But try to remain calm! We can not stress enough that your reaction time is crucial when attempting to save a dislodged tooth.
If you are able to locate the tooth, pick it up by the crown rather than the root, lightly rinse it off and place the tooth in milk. Then, head to our office as quickly as you can. If we can not save your tooth, we will move forward with dental implants or other treatment solutions that make sense for you.
Cracked Or Chipped Tooth
There are many things that can cause you to a chip or even break a tooth. You can fall on your face, try to use your teeth as bottle openers or in place of other tools. Biting into popcorn, candy, rib bones, or ice can cause real damage too. Old fillings can also wear out and cause a piece of your tooth to break off while you are in the midst of chewing something tasty.
Never ignore the problem, no matter how it happens, and even if there isn’t any pain present. That’s because when you chip or break a tooth, you can expose the dentin and dental pulp, putting yourself at risk for a root canal or worse. Let us know and we will do what we can to get you back on track.
Self-Inflicted Bites
If you accidentally bite your tongue, lips, or any other part of your mouth, it will certainly hurt, but you may not need to come in unless it is really bad.
Start by calmly working on cleaning the area that you cut and securing some sort of ice pack or cold compress. In most instances, the bleeding will stop before too long. If you have damaged your gum, tongue, cheek, or other mouth tissue and need help stopping the bleeding, please call us as soon as possible.
We’ll Be Here To Make It Better!
When handling a dental emergency, all you can think about is getting it resolved. You don’t want to deal with finding a provider, paying for service, or anything else, you just want the pain and worry to go away! We know how terrifying a dental emergency can be, and we work hard to take care of all our emergency patients as fast as we can.
We see emergency patients same-day! Don’t wait to call our office at 815-725-5991!
For non-emergencies, feel free to contact us online to schedule your next appointment at our Shorewood, IL dentist’s office.
