Scripps Ranch Emergency Dentist Services Available 24/7. (858) 566 – 8516 Call now to take care of your tooth pain. Dr Shaheen Tourian, DDS Dr. Tourian is highly regarded by his patients as one of the best Emergency Dentist in San Diego. He is ready and available to assist you with your dental emergencies 24/7
What Constitutes a Dental Emergency?
The practice of dentistry deals with a number of oral conditions but not all of them can be accurately categorized as dental emergencies. Dental emergencies are those conditions that are characterized by intense pain and life threatening spinoff effects.
One of the most common types of conditions that call for urgent emergency dental care is oral trauma. Very often, these result from injuries that dislodge or fracture teeth or oral support structures such as bones, cuts or wounds located on the gums, cheeks, lips or tongue. In each case identified here, a dentist should be sought immediately for dental care. The shorter the length of time between the occurrence and the dental visit the greater the chances of reversing damage or effecting a full recovery will be.
What Steps Are Necessary In the Case of Traumatic Tooth Loss?
The first thing that must be done when a tooth is dislodged due to trauma is to contact a dentist who has a good track record in emergency dentistry for immediate care. The tooth should be taken with you to the dentist and must never be handled by the root. Instead, it should be held by the crown and all manipulation of the root (the section of the tooth that normally stays below the gum line) should be avoided in order to prevent any further damage to the cells that are critical to the reattachment process.
Transporting the Dislodged Tooth to the Dentist
If there is the dirt or other foreign matter on the tooth, use clean water to rinse it gently but do not scrub it. The best possible place to keep the tooth while transporting it to the dentist is in the mouth from which it came. If this is not possible though, you can place it in a moist casing. Maintaining the moisture of the tooth is very important. This can be done by encasing it in a clean gauze or cloth and submerging it in either milk or saliva.
How do I Deal with a Tooth That Has Been Pushed out of Its Position
You can try to restore the tooth to its original position. Do this using light pressure from your finger and be careful to avoid forcing the tooth. The tooth may then be kept in place by pressure created by biting down.
Dealing With a Fractured or Broken Tooth
The first thing to do in this situation is to rinse your mouth using warm water. You should then try to reduce or eliminate swelling and inflammation by applying a cold compress or an ice pack.
Emergency Pain Management
If your oral trauma is causing such pain that you must use pain killers, use ibuprofen. Do not use aspirin or any pain killers containing this ingredient.
Emergency Dental care Kit Items
The following items are ideal for dental emergencies and should be included in all first aid kits.
- Gauze
- Closable container (for storing a dislodged tooth)
- ibuprofen