Dental emergencies and accidents are common. If treated
correctly and timely, the tooth can often be saved.
Dental pain
Dental emergencies usually involve severe dental pain. It is not
a broken tooth or a tooth ache that has been persisting for a
couple weeks, but rather a quick onset of severe and unrelenting
pain. If a dental emergency occurs during normal working
hours, we will ensure that you can be seen within a couple of hours
of you calling us. If your pain occurs on a weekend or
overnight, we have an after hours emergency number you can call.
This number is available on our answering service when you call the
surgery on 07 5576 4923. Where possible we recommend that you take
some mild pain relief until our office opens again. Dental
emergencies are usually the result of a serve infection or abscess
that has formed in or around the tooth. It may be a new infection,
but often it is a result of decay or gum disease that your dentist
had previously identified as needing treatment. Many people choose
to delay treatment until it 'hurts', but this is
not advisable. Dental decay or infection will 'blow up' at the
most inconvenient time. It is painful and often advanced enough to
require root canal treatment or extraction.
At Gerber Dental Group we advise that prevention is better than
cure. Regular preventive care appointments and early detection and
treatment of any decay and infection gives a very good chance of
saving your tooth, avoiding sudden pain and reducing the cost of
complex treatment.
Dental accidents
Dental accidents are
the most common cause of dental problems for children and teenagers
behind decay and gum disease. Mouthguards MUST be worn during any
highly active or contact sports. Your teeth are too valuable to
risk and leaving them on the football field is both a painful
and expensive exercise. Mouthguards should be made by your dentist
rather than purchasing an 'off the shelf' or 'do it yourself'
version.
What to do if your tooth is
knocked out:-
- Place your tooth in cool milk or salt water.
- DO NOT wash it off or clean it.
- Get to your dentist immediately - in some cases the tooth can
be saved.
- If the accident occurs after hours, go straight to your local
hospital emergency department and request to see an oral
surgeon. Call the practice first thing the next working day
and schedule an appointment to see your own dentist.
Click here for more
information about mouthguards.