What to do in a Dental Emergency

While you may keep up with your regular cleanings and dental work, emergencies can and do happen. How you handle them can affect the outcome. Whether as a result of an accident, sports injury, infection or fall, dental emergencies can result in knocked-out teeth, abscesses, chipped teeth and more. The key is to act quickly and contact your general dentist in Studio City.

Check out these common emergencies and what to do if they happen to you.

• Chipped or broken tooth: If possible, save the chipped piece of the affected tooth and seal it in a baggie to bring to your dentist. Rinse your mouth with warm water. If you are bleeding, press gauze to the area, followed by a cold compress to keep the swelling down.
• Lost fillings: Have you lost a ceramic or silver filling? Chew up a piece of sugarless gum and adhere it to the top of the tooth. Or, get some over the counter dental cement. Call your dentist as soon as you can to get an appointment. When you leave the tooth exposed, infection could set in.
• Knocked-out tooth: If the tooth is easily recoverable, grab it by the crown rather than the root. Rinse it off and try to settle it gently back into its slot in your gums. Hold it there until you can get to an ER, walk-in clinic or your dentist’s office. If you can’t get to help quickly, drop the tooth in a cup of milk to preserve the root.
• Toothache: To deal with the pain, take an over the counter pain reliever or apply a cold compress. If you think the tooth ache is caused by a piece of food, try to dislodge it with floss. If not, this could signal a deeper problem that requires immediate attention.
• Abscess: An abscess, an infection at the root of the tooth, is a condition that needs immediate attention in order to prevent the infection from getting out of control. Rinse with warm, salty water off and on while waiting to see your dentist.
• Broken brackets: If you have braces and a bracket, wire or brace breaks, use the tip of a pencil eraser and gently push it back into place. If you have wax, you can use that to cover up jagged or pointy wires that poke at the insides of your mouth. Call your dentist or orthodontist to get the problem fixed right away. Prolonged treatment at great expense and discomfort can result if you waste time before calling your dentist or orthodontist.

Contact Studio City Dental Center

If you or your child is facing a severe dental emergency or trauma that can’t wait, call 911. If the accident happens during regular business hours, call us and come in for immediate treatment. Contact us at 818-762-2977 or email us at info@studiocitydentalcenter.com to notify us of the situation.