10 Tips from Our Emergency Dentist in Vernon, BC
When you struggle with dental pain, it is essential to know if you require emergency dental care and if your dental insurance plan covers it. A few examples of dental emergencies include knocked-out teeth due to an injury, a tooth abscess, severe tooth pain, etc. Emergency dental offices focus on giving the necessary dental treatment on an immediate basis regardless of the dental emergency. By taking the necessary steps, you can handle emergencies without any hassle.
Tips from the Emergency Dentists
Consider the following pointers when struggling with a dental emergency:
Determine the Situations of Dental Emergency
Every dental problem is not a dental emergency. For example, when you have tooth pain, you do not need to visit the dentist every time. However, face swelling accompanied by intense pain requires an instant appointment with a dental clinic dealing with emergency dentistry. The situation can be due to mouth infection or underlying issues in the mouth.
Stay Calm
Although dental emergencies cause discomfort, they are never life-threatening. So when a dental emergency strikes, it is essential to avoid panicking. Rather, stay calm and make good decisions. For example, when someone gets gum bleeding or a mouth blow due to an accident, he/she must drive to the urgent care clinic or ER to get the treatment.
The best way to handle the situation is to stay focused and get help from the dentist expert in emergency dentistry in Vernon. Although panicking is a natural reaction, inhaling and exhaling the air gradually will help to reduce stress.
Use First-Aid Techniques
When it’s impossible to seek assistance from the emergency dental clinic, you can try a first-aid method to get relief from unbearable pain. These methods include:
- Using a cold and a hot compress.
- Saving a knocked-out tooth in the milk container.
- Wash your mouth using a saltwater solution to minimize the chances of bleeding and gum infection.
Arrange for an Emergency Visit
In most cases, patients are not mentally healthy enough to drive to the end of the dental office while struggling with dental urgency. Therefore, it’s best to take help from someone to arrange a ride. If no one becomes available, you can even use a taxi service.
Manage Dental Pain Before it Strikes
The most common reason people book a trip to the emergency dental clinic is unbearable pain in the tooth. It can be due to a dental abscess, a blow to the face, or other oral health problems.
The emergency dentist usually advises patients to manage the pain before arrival. For this, suggest using a gauze pad on the affected painful area of the mouth. The patient can also control the pain and swelling using a cold compress.
Refrain from Drinking and Eating Anything
Another piece of advice from the emergency dentist is to avoid drinking and eating anything till they have checked during dental checkups. Consuming beverages and foods can enhance the irritation, pain, and damage in the mouth. Therefore, make sure you keep your mouth in a relaxed position.
Do Not Put Undue Pressure on the Oral Cavity
When a tooth turns loose, you might be trying to pull it out from the mouth. But it’s best to avoid exerting pressure on the loose tooth and nearby region. The soft tissues in the mouth might suffer from more damage and ultimately need extensive and high-cost dental treatment later on.
React Quickly But Carefully to Salvage Your Tooth
A knocked-out tooth requires replacement within one to two hours. Therefore, it is pivotal to act quickly in dental emergencies to ensure the best results for your oral health.
Skip ER for Dental Emergencies
If you struggle with a head injury or serious dental trauma like mouth bleeding, or a broken jaw, you should visit the emergency room immediately. But not every situation will require a trip to the ER near you. If you have minor dental emergencies and don’t have other injuries, it’s a good idea to visit an emergency dental clinic like Ryan K Dentistry rather than the emergency room.
Planning
The most important aspect of dental treatment is planning. Ignoring it damages your dental health significantly and also increases your expenditure. Therefore, it’s worth planning where to go when a dental emergency occurs.