If you experience a bad fall or oral injury, you can easily dislodge or loosen a tooth in the process. While it’s better than knocking the tooth out of your mouth outright, this should not be considered anything less than a dental emergency. What you do next is very important not just for the health of your tooth, but your mouth overall as well. Thankfully, a dentist is prepared to walk you through the right steps when a loose tooth appears (and it’s not a baby tooth that’s meant to come out naturally.)
Pain Management
A loose tooth is likely to cause a large amount of discomfort, but it’s important to stay calm and start looking for pain relievers you have on hand. One of the best options out there is ibuprofen, which is an anti-inflammatory particularly useful for dental pain. Whether you have a toothache or a partially dislodged tooth, it’s likely your best option moving forward.
Additionally, you may experience some facial swelling. To reduce this swelling, make sure to apply a cold compress to the affected area and hold it there for about 10 minutes. You’ll want to remove the ice pack for an additional 10 minutes to avoid damaging your facial tissue in the process. During this time, you should get in touch with a dentist.
If the tooth is wiggling around in the socket, do not attempt to pull it out. Even though it’s become loose, it is effectively being preserved in the jaw, improving the chances that it can be reimplanted.
Call an Emergency Dentist
Not only will you be able to get an appointment scheduled sooner the earlier you call them, but you can also get useful information on managing your emergency while you wait. No matter what type of dental emergency you are experiencing, you should make sure that you call the dentist and set up an appointment. Keep in mind that this issue will not get better on its own. In fact, it will quickly worsen if not handled by a dentist within the next hour.
What to Expect at the Dental Office
Once you arrive, the dentist will be able to confirm if the tooth is still connected to your mouth’s essential structures, including your nerves and blood vessels. If this is the case, the tooth can be salvaged and should not need to be removed (assuming there was no severe decay prior to the injury.) In order to give the tooth time to heal, a splint will be placed. However, it’s also possible that a root canal will be necessary, so keep this in mind once you arrive.
Got a dislodged tooth that needs treatment? Don’t put off your dental emergency any longer. Call an emergency dentist today to save your tooth!
About the Author
Dr. Byars not only has many years of experience as a practicing dentist, but he’s trained to manage dental emergencies of many different kinds, including the avulsion or dislodging of teeth. He’ll do everything he can to see you as soon as possible, so you can save your tooth from needing an extraction. To handle a dental emergency, don’t hesitate to call his office today!