Fort Worth Miller Dental & Duc Pham Dentistry Orthodontics World Class Dentistry
DENTAL EMERGENCY
Any dental emergency like an injury to the teeth or gums can be potentially serious and should not be ignored. Ignoring a dental problem can increase the risk of permanent damage as well as the need for more extensive and expensive treatment down the road.
Here’s a quick summary of what to do for some common dental problems.
Lost filling:
Lost crown:
Toothaches:
Abscess:
Abscesses are infections that occur around the root of a tooth or in the space between the teeth and gums. Abscesses are a serious condition that can damage tissue and surrounding teeth, with the infection possibly spreading to other parts of the body if left untreated. Because of the serious oral health and general health problems that can result from an abscess, call our office to schedule an appointment as soon as possible. You may discover a painful pimple-like swelling on your gum from the infection. In the meantime, to ease the pain and draw the pus toward the surface, try rinsing your mouth with a mild salt-water solution (1/2 teaspoon of table salt in 8 ounces of water) several times a day.
Chipped or broken teeth:
Knocked-out tooth:
Retrieve the tooth, hold it by the crown (the part that is usually exposed in the mouth), and rinse off the tooth root with water if it is dirty. Do not scrub it or remove any attached tissue fragments. If possible, try to put the tooth back in place. Make sure it is facing the right way. Never force it into the socket. If it is not possible to reinsert the tooth in the socket, put the tooth in a small container of milk (or cup of water that contains a pinch of table salt, if milk is not available). In all cases, contact our office as quickly as possible. Knocked out teeth with the highest chances of being saved are those seen by the dentist and returned to their socket within 1 hour of being knocked out.
Bleeding after losing a baby tooth:
Place a clean folded piece of gauze or paper towel over the site. Ask the child to bite down on the piece of gauze or paper towel for 15 minutes. Repeat if necessary.
