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How to Prevent Dental Emergencies: Protect Your Oral Health
There are ways to reduce the chances of dental emergencies and protect your teeth. We encourage our patients at Putnam Bright Smile Dentistry to follow these tips to maintain a healthy and resilient smile.
Keep Good Oral Hygiene
It is important to maintain good oral hygiene to prevent dental problems such as decay, gum diseases, and other issues that could lead to an emergency. To keep your mouth healthy, brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste twice daily, floss every day, and use antibacterial mouthwash. Regular dental cleanings and checkups are also essential to identify and address potential problems before they turn into emergencies.
Wear a Mouthguard
Wearing a mouthguard while participating in sports and activities that can cause dental injuries is a great way to protect your teeth. Our office offers custom mouthguards that offer superior protection to those available in stores.
Avoid Hard or Chewy Foods
Hard foods like ice, nuts, and hard candy can damage your teeth by causing chips, cracks, or breaks. Sticky foods such as caramel or taffy, which are chewy and sticky, can damage dental restorations. Avoid foods that can damage your teeth, especially if they have been treated with dental work.
Address Dental Issues Early
Do not wait until it becomes an emergency to address a problem with your gums or teeth. Early treatment can prevent dental problems from becoming more serious and requiring urgent attention. If you have a toothache, a loose filling, or any other dental issue, schedule an appointment at Putnam Bright Smile Dental Care as soon as possible. This will save you from unnecessary pain, time, and complications.
What to Do in a Dental Emergency
When a dental emergency strikes you or someone in your family, it’s important to know just what to do until you can arrive at our office. Please check the list below for emergency actions you can take and then call us the first moment possible so we can make time for you. Our emergency care will be directed at relieving your pain quickly and preventing your situation from getting worse. We can then schedule you for completion of any treatment you might need.
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This is the time to drop everything and rush to our office. If a completely knocked-out tooth can be correctly placed back in its socket in less than an hour, there is a good chance it can be saved. Preserve the tooth by holding it inside your cheek, but be careful not to swallow it. If the patient is a small child, store the tooth in a glass of milk (not water) until you arrive. This helps keep the root of the tooth viable. Do not touch the tooth by the root but only by the hard, white crown.
If there is bleeding, press clean gauze over the tooth and then apply a cold pack to the cheek to reduce pain. Bring the part of the tooth that broke off to our office.
Gently flossing around the area and rinsing with warm salt water can help relieve problems that could be causing the toothache. An over-the-counter pain reliever can also help.
If an accident has loosened one or more teeth, we may be able to save them. Please call us immediately. Until you can arrive at our office, hold a cold compress against your cheek to reduce your pain. Try to leave the loosened teeth alone. An over-the-counter pain reliever can help.
If you lose a crown or filling, the affected tooth is likely to be quite sensitive. You can purchase dental adhesive in a pharmacy and use it to cover the exposed part of the tooth or secure the crown. Never use any other kind of glue or cement. If you are suffering pain, press a cold pack to your cheek.
An abscess will show up as a painful swelling around a tooth or in the gum. Rinse the area frequently with warm salt water to try to draw out some of the infection.
While some of these emergencies result from accidental injury, some can actually be prevented by keeping your routine dental care up to date. Every time we see you for cleaning and examinations, we’re going to look for any small problems that could turn into a toothache or abscess. We’ll tell you exactly what treatment you need to stay free from the discomfort of a dental emergency.
If you live in Brewster, Brewster Hill, Carmel, Peach Lake, Southeast or other parts of Putnam County and you need emergency dentistry, please call our office. We will make every effort to fit you into our schedule as soon as possible. After starting one of our first aid procedures listed above, please call us right away.
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For Our New Patients
Are you a new patient at Putnam Bright Smile Dentistry? Make sure you fill out our new patient forms. Make sure that you print out and complete these forms before your first appointment. This will help us to speed up the new patient registration process.
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