What do you do in a dental emergency? When should you call your dentist and when should you go to the emergency room? I’ll help you answer these questions and make you better prepared if there is a dental emergency in your household.

Did you know that all dentists are mandated by LAW to provide their home phone numbers in the phone book? Well, it’s true! And it’s extremely helpful in dental emergency cases.

The most common dental emergency is the toothache. These can arise form several problems. Your best bet is to call your dentist and seek emergency treatment from him/her. Your dentist can prescribe medication for you, if that is the best remedy, or he/she can schedule an emergency appointment for you. The emergency room can usually only give you pain medication and you still have to wait for your dentist to actually remedy the problem.

Another dental emergency that usually happens with small children is a knocked out tooth. Knocked out baby teeth should also be considered a dental emergency. Baby teeth serve important functions that may cause problems in the long run if not dealt with properly by your dental professional. If a tooth gets knocked out, there are several precautions that you need to take. First, find the tooth. If the root is dirty, rinse it with water making sure NOT to touch the root or disturb any attached tissue. The BEST remedy in this case is to reinsert the tooth into the socket after gently cleansing it, and see your dentist IMMEDIATELY. If the tooth cannot be reinserted, then you need to keep the tooth moist. The best environment for the tooth is saliva, its natural environment. Put the tooth back into the victim’s mouth next to their cheek. If the victim happens to be a child and you are worried about him/her swallowing the tooth, you can put the tooth in your own mouth or you can put the tooth in a cup filled with enough saliva to cover the whole tooth. If a saliva environment is not a feasible option, then you may immerse the tooth in a cup of milk. Please remember that you MUST see your dentist within 1 hour after the accident if you wish to save the tooth. This time limit is crucial because the cells of the tooth structure that enable proper bone reattachment start to die after 1 hour, which makes it VERY difficult to ensure proper reinsertion of the tooth. If the victim is in pain, you may give them Ibuprofen, but NOT aspirin, as aspirin is an anti-coagulant and may possibly cause excess bleeding.

If a tooth becomes broken, you first need to cleanse the area by rinsing with warm water. Next, you’ll want to keep the swelling down by using a cold compress or ice pack. Make sure to call you dentist immediately.

A chipped tooth may or may not be an emergency situation. An indication of nerve damage is pain or sensitivity in the affected tooth, which indicates that dental treatment is needed immediately. If no pain or sensitivity exists, call your dentist to make sure that everything is okay and then schedule a future appointment to have the problem remedied.

Soft tissue injuries to the mouth, such as a split lip or tongue, are often best dealt with in the emergency room because extenuating circumstances could warrant further treatment by a physician or a hospital stay. This is one case where you should seek ER treatment. As for most dental problems, prevention is the key. By preventing these kinds of accidents, you can ward off frightening situations. One way of preventing tooth injury is to wear protective mouth gear, such as a mouth guard. Children should be encouraged to wear mouth guards whenever sports are involved. Mouth guards also help protect the child’s cheeks, gums, and lips from injury.

I hope you never have to deal with a dental emergency, but if you do, I hope you feel better informed and more prepared to handle the situation.