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Imagine: It's a refreshing Saturday afternoon, and you're enjoying a picnic with your family in the park. Everyone is running and enjoying around you. And in that enjoyment, a small pebble landed in your bag of chips, and… you bite down on something hard and feel a sharp pain shoot through your mouth. Well, as you feared, you've chipped your tooth, and it's causing unbearable pain as every second passes. But the problem is, your Napanee dentist is closed until Monday. Now What!!?
Just like any other emergency, dental emergency can easily happen anytime anywhere –especially when you least expect it. But, don't worry because we have just the solution to how you can manage your dental emergency until your dentist open up on Monday.
First things first, take a deep breath and try to stay calm.Panicking will only make the situation feel worse. Now that you are calm check what happened to your mouth. Is it a chipped tooth, a knocked-out tooth, just a toothache, or something else like a laceration? Understanding and identifying the issue will help with the next step.
If, unfortunately, you knocked out a tooth, time is of the essence. Pick up the tooth by the crown (the part that's visible in your mouth)and rinse it with milk. Be sure not to scrub or remove any tissue attached to it. If possible, try to place the tooth back into its socket and hold it in place by gently biting down or using clean gauze. If that's not feasible, keep the tooth moist by placing it in water, milk, or even your saliva (gross but necessary!), and head to the nearest emergency dental clinic or hospital (it doesn't have to be your dentist.
Toothaches can be excruciating, especially when they strike outside of regular dental office hours, and you can't rush to the ER. If bleeding has stopped, you can also get over the counter medicines like ibuprofen or cold pack. Applying a cold pack on the outside of your cheek will also help with the swelling and numb the area temporarily until you can find an open dentist Napanee and solve the issue.
Losing your filling or crown can leave your gums and teeth vulnerable and sensitive to temperature changes and pressure. But, temporarily,you can try to reattach the filling or crown using dental cement, available at most pharmacies. Be sure to avoid chewing from the injured side of your mouth until you can visit your dentist for a permanent fix.
If you've chipped or broken your tooth, rinse your mouth with water to clean the wound and stop bleeding. If there's bleeding, apply gentle pressure with a soft cloth until it stops. Avoid (while injured)anything too hot, cold, or hard, as it could aggravate the injury further. Try to get in touch with your dentist ASAP so that you can return to your life with a painless tooth.
We know that dental emergencies are often unavoidable, but there are steps you can take to reduce your risk of experiencing one in the future. Practice good oral health by brushing, gargling, and flossing regularly; also, avoid eating or biting on hard objects like popcorn kernels while playing sports, wear a mouth guard, and don't miss dental visits to detect any oral issues before they make you toothless.
Dental emergencies can really spoil the mood, but what goodwill crying over spoiled milk will do for you? Nothing. So, it's better to do something about your dental emergency than to stay where you are and be mad about why it happens to you.
Most importantly, never eat anything mindlessly and always check what you are eating. If you hadn't eaten that pebble at the beginning of the blog, you would still have your tooth intact, and you would still be enjoying that imaginary picnic.
Of course, we are just kidding –but, on a serious note, don't forget to take super extra care of your teeth because everything can regrow in your body except teeth, and you don't want to lose them over some silly mistake.
