You’re on vacation. The sun is shining, the beach waves are crashing, and you’re having the time of your life—until a dental emergency happens. Maybe you feel a severe toothache, or your son falls and chips a tooth. Perhaps someone’s permanent tooth comes out completely. You’re far away from home, and you’re not sure what to do. Hopefully this doesn’t happen to you this summer, whether you travel out of town or enjoy a staycation, but you can be prepared by knowing what to do if a dental emergency does occur. Check out these four tips from your emergency dentist in Lincoln about how to handle these stressful scenarios.
Stay Calm and Assess the Situation
When you’re faced with a dental emergency, millions of questions and worries can swirl around in your head. Take a moment to breathe and examine what has happened. How bad is the damage? What hurts? Is there bleeding? Your next steps will depend on the circumstances, and you need to have a clear mind. For instance, if bleeding, you need to try to stop it with gauze or something similar before anything else. Then, you can evaluate whether you need to seek professional help.
Contact Your Dentist and Get Help
In many dental emergencies, you need to call a dentist right away for their next available appointment. In fact, in the case of a knocked-out tooth, you should try to get to a dental office within an hour for the best chances of saving it. If you’re far away from your regular dentist, do your best to find a local dental office that takes emergency appointments, preferably on the same day. If, however, you’re in town, you can always trust your dentist in Lincoln to provide you with quality care when you need it most.
Act Wisely
Whether you can see the dentist immediately or you have to wait a little bit before they can see you, there are actions you can take to improve the odds of successful treatment. For example, when you pick up your knocked-out tooth, don’t touch the root, and try to reposition it in the socket. If you have a severe toothache, rinse your mouth with warm water and try flossing around the tooth in case there’s anything stuck between your teeth. For a chipped or broken tooth, try to collect the pieces of your tooth and bring them with you to the dentist’s office. These smart actions can facilitate the process of getting you back to full oral health again with your natural teeth intact.
Use Available Resources
When you’re away from home, you may have to improvise a little. A chipped or broken tooth, for example, may have sharp points or edges, so you can use dental wax, which is available at most drugstores, to keep them from cutting your lips or cheeks. Also, if you are unable to put a knocked-out tooth back in the socket, you can store it in milk or, if you have no other option, water. Basically, you want to keep the root moist and clean until you get to the dentist’s office.
In the end, you can’t plan when or how you have a dental emergency, but you can be prepared for it and plan how to respond if you do. This can give you added peace of mind while you and your family experience your summer adventures. If you have any other questions about what to do in a dental emergency, contact your dentist in Lincoln.
About the Author
With six locations throughout the Lincoln area, Williamsburg Dental is always ready to help patients in need. When patients call (402) 420-2222 anytime, a team member will respond within 24 hours, and their eight skilled dentists bring much-needed relief. If you need their emergency services, don’t hesitate to call! You can also make an appointment online by clicking on the “Click to Schedule” button at the top right corner of the website here.