Dealing with a dental emergency is not something people think about. Dental injuries can occur anytime, anywhere, and you may not always be near an open dentist’s office when one occurs. Any dental pain can feel like an emergency, and it's impossible to ignore any dental problem for very long.
Most dental offices don't have a 24 hour service like emergency rooms, but the do have someone on call during business hours 7 days a week. Some dental problems can wait a few days until a scheduled appointment, and other need to be addressed as soon as possible. However, there are some things you can do during a dental emergency on your own until you can make it to a dentist.
A cracked or broken tooth is a very serious injury that should be attended immediately. Rinse out the cavity with warm water. Apply a temporary filling product which can be made into a ball and pressed firmly into the cavity. These problems need be addressed immediately to prevent further damage to the tooth and gums. If your tooth chips or breaks, keep the pieces and gently clean them with warm water; then rinse your mouth with warm water and apply gauze to stop any bleeding.
Toothaches won't go away on their own and the longer you ignore them, the more serious and potentially damaging they will become. Rinse your mouth out with warm water and place some kind of cold compress against your cheek for twenty minutes to reduce the swelling.
Abscesses are an infection in the root of a tooth or between the tooth and the gum; the infection can spread to the rest of the body if it's left untreated. Objects caught between the teeth can also lead to infections and pain if they are left alone, but none of these problems are considered emergencies that need to be taken care of in the middle of the night.
Even though a missing crown is not immediately painful, it can become painful in a short period of time as food and other debris gather in the cavity. If it's a filling that has fallen out, purchase some over the counter dental cement and fill the hole until you can see the dentist. If it's a crown that has fallen off, keep the crown and make an appointment to see the dentist as soon as possible.
If you have a dental plan already, then you have nothing to worry about; just pay the co-pay and go on about your business. If you don't have a dental plan, it's already too late to get one because regular dental insurance has a long waiting period before it kicks in. We knew going to dentist is not your favorite thing especially in middle night, the you should schedule a dental plan for dental emergency work.
