Are You Prepared for a Dental Emergency?

Are you prepared for a dental emergency? This may seem like a silly question but it happens to hundreds of people each day. Unfortunately, most of these people are not prepared for this type of an emergency.

One of the main things that you need to know about a dental emergency is that you need to contact your dentist as soon as possible. Therefore, the first thing that you should do is to have all of his contact information on your phone. This will allow you to make an appointment.

Most people do not realize that the majority of dentists set aside a bit of time each day for emergencies. Therefore, never assume that your dentist will be too busy to see if you have a dental emergency. A dental emergency takes priority in most dental offices.

When you have a dental emergency there are things that you can do while you wait for your appointment. Obviously, if you are in pain you will need to take some type of pain medication. It should be noted that you can probably save your tooth if you see the dentist within the first two hours.

If you have a tooth that has been knocked out of your mouth you will need to visit your dentist immediately. Make sure that you pick up the tooth by the crown and do not touch any part of an exposed root. Take the tooth and gently wash it in lukewarm water. Do not try to scrub the tooth clean or remove any of the attached tissue.

If you are doing this in a sink make sure that you have the drain cover in place so as to not accidentally wash your tooth down the drain. Then take your choose with you to your dental appointment.

Do You Know An Emergency Dentist In Rochester?

A dental nurseWhy You Should Have A Rochester Emergency Dentist On Speed Dial

In my line of work, you see a lot of accidents and emergency situations. A person can’t be prepared for every situation, after all, and sometimes accidents happen. But the worst situations occur when teeth and mouth injuries could have been repaired less expensively if the patient had gotten to a local emergency dentist in time.

One such accident involved a patient’s chipped front tooth. Chipped is the technical term, what had actually happened was that he’d tripped and fallen, and his right front tooth literally broke in half. Now, had he gotten the tooth to our Rochester dental office quickly, I could have used a dental epoxy to essentially glue the tooth back together. The tooth would have been as good as new, more or less, and it would have cost less than one hundred dollars to fix his broken tooth.

Unfortunately, the patient waited until the next day to come in during regular office hours. By that time, the tooth piece had dried out, and could not be epoxied back together. It was unfortunate, but the patient required a full root canal and a replacement tooth, which was much more costly than one hundred dollars.

There are many situations that happen in a similar vein. It’s always unfortunate when a patient can get less expensive care rather than having to have full dental surgery performed, and yet the patient chooses to wait. When you have a tooth injury, waiting doesn’t do anything other than allow the injury to worsen.

That’s why you should always have the name and number of an emergency dentist on hand. You never know when you might trip and fall, and cause damage to your mouth or teeth. Or have something come flying at you. There are a number of possible dangers in the world, don’t let them get the best of you.