Just like a broken water pipe in the winter or power failure, they rarely happen during normal business hours. Dental emergencies are usually the same. At EMA, we have one of our dentists on call to handle your emergencies.
Here are some typical dental emergencies and what to do
Knocked out teeth
You were playing a little pond hockey and someone didn’t get the memo about no lifting of the puck. Now you have a knocked-out tooth. First thing, find it. Then rinse if off with water. Don’t scrub it or remove any tissue fragments; they may help save your tooth. Try and put the tooth back in place, but if you can’t, put it in a glass of milk or water with a pinch of salt. The tooth has a better chance of being saved if you see us within the first few hours, so call us because we always have a dentist on call.
Chipped or broken teeth
Were you zealously diving into that sandwich only to find there was more than just chicken in that chicken salad? Crack! The key is to save the chipped part, if possible, or the pieces if it’s broken. Just as with a knocked-out tooth, rinse your mouth out with warm water and rinse the tooth pieces. Gauze will stop the bleeding, and a cold compress held outside your mouth or cheek will help with pain. Again, call us immediately.
Loose fillings or lost crowns
If that caramel you were chewing pulled out a filling or a crown, call us immediately. In the meantime, you can fill the gap temporarily with sugarless gum or dental cement. Don’t use sugared gum; it will cause pain. If a crown is off, find it and bring it with you. Reattach it is possible and you can keep it in place with over-the-counter dental cement or denture adhesive. Clove oil (in the drug store or spice aisle in the grocery) can alleviate the pain and sensitivity in the area.
Toothaches
Toothaches really don’t qualify as “emergencies,” but they are still out of the ordinary. If you have a really bad toothache, rinse your mouth with warm water to make sure it’s clean. There are brush-on over-the-counter toothache relievers, but don’t get the substance on your gums. That will burn the gum tissue. If the toothache lasts more than a day or two, call us.
Objects stuck between your teeth
If you get something lodged between your teeth, so if you can first floss it out. Don’t use a sharp object to try and force it free. You can damage the enamel on your teeth and your gums.
At EMA Dental, we’re all about the finest care for your teeth, whether it’s during business hours or in the middle of the night during an emergency. Call us at either our Longmeadow or Northhampton offices for your next appointment.
The real difference between in-office and home whitening is the strength of the agents used to whiten your teeth. Because there isn’t any supervision and the potential for overuse exists, home gels have far lower concentrations of the bleaching agents. This, of course, requires more applications over a longer period of time than in-office whitening.