Emergency Dental Visits

Have you ever had a dental emergency and felt that you did not know what to do next? Dental emergencies can occur when you least expect them and many people are left feeling confused and fail to act swiftly. This often delays the treatment they should be getting and leads to more complicated issues. 

Here are some of the most common dental emergencies and how you can handle them before visiting the dentist:

• Broken Teeth

A broken tooth has to be treated by a dentist as soon as possible. If it is not, this can lead to throbbing pain and a severe risk of sustaining oral infections. It could even cost you the tooth entirely. 

As soon as you sustain an injury, make sure you gargle with clean and cold water to remove the broken pieces of tooth and any other particles in the mouth. You can control bleeding using a clean piece of gauze and reduce pain and swelling by putting some ice on the cheek. 

When you visit our practice, we will assess the situation quickly and suggest suitable treatment. If the injury is minor, we will suggest restoring the tooth using ceramic restorations like crowns, veneers, or composite bonding. If the tooth is damaged beyond restoration, we will have to extract it to prevent further pain.

• Avulsed Teeth

An avulsed tooth is one that is completely knocked out from the mouth. It can be quite painful and shocking. However, it is crucial that you gather yourself quickly after the incident. 

You will have to pick up the tooth holding only the crown and not the root, as the microbes on your fingers could infect the live tissues on its surface. Then, rinse the tooth with clean water and place it between your gum and cheek, as the saliva in your mouth will keep the tissues alive. If that isn’t an option, try to place it in a glass of milk until you reach our dental practice. 

If you arrive within an hour of the incident, we may be able to put the tooth back in its socket and allow the tissues to reattach to the gums.

• Injured Soft Tissues

The soft inner lining of the mouth, the tongue, and the gums form the soft tissues of the mouth. They may sustain injuries when you have a bad fall, go through an automobile accident, or due to a sports-related injury. This can lead to severe bleeding and pain, and leaving the wound untreated can cause infections. If the cut is deep, we may have to use sutures to close it. If not, we will treat it using suitable medication.

In case of a dental emergency, contact Primary Dental Cleaning at (432) 570-7080 or visit us at 4519 N Garfield St., Suite 16A, Midland, TX 79705, and we’ll provide the necessary assistance at the earliest.