Many of us take precautions when it comes to our health and our family’s health. We prepare for emergencies by learning CPR, and finding the location for the nearest emergency room. At Hale & Hale, DDS, we always like to instruct our patients what to do in a dental emergency. Therefore, we decided to put our emergency dental tips online, so that not only our Santa Monica dental office patients know what to do, but our visitors online can get quick tips, as well. Whether you have a bad toothache, a broken tooth, or a cut lip, learn how to deal with all these ailments.
The American Dental Association (ADA) provides emergency dental tips for a variety of situations that may arise to your, or your children. To prevent accidents, they recommend wearing a mouthguard when participating in sports, and not cutting tape with your teeth, but instead with scissors. If an emergency does occur, here are some simple solutions.
Bitten Lip or Tongue
If you accidentally bite your lip or tongue, and it is bleeding, the main thing you need to do is clean the area to avoid infection. Use a cool, moist cloth to clean, and then a cold compress to reduce swelling. Make sure the bleeding stops; if it doesn’t, seek medical attention.
Broken Tooth
If you have broken a tooth, use warm water to wash out the area immediately, and then apply a cold compress to reduce swelling. Call your Santa Monica dental office immediately to schedule an emergency dental appointment.
Jaw-Possibly Broken
If you believe that you have a broken jaw, there is not much you can do to fix it yourself. Apply a cold compress to keep swelling down. Call your dentist immediately; if a dentist cannot see you, head straight to an emergency room.
Knocked Out Tooth
If your tooth accidentally got knocked out, try to hold in its socket, if at all possible. If not, rinse the tooth in water, being careful not to remove any fragments or tissue still attached to it. Put the loose tooth in a cup of milk, and call your Santa Monica dentist as soon as possible.
Objects Caught Between Teeth
Don’t cause more damage to your teeth by using a random, sharp object to remove items stuck in between your teeth. Use dental floss to dislodge the item, and if you can’t, call your dentist.
Toothache
If you have ever had a toothache, you know that the pain can often be so severe, that you would consider going to the emergency room. If you are experiencing a toothache, clean the area, and use floss to make sure no food or other items are causing the pain. Call your dentist for a consultation on treating the pain.
Visit us here to learn more about services for emergency dental in Santa Monica.
