5 Common Types of Dental Emergencies

What Are Dental Emergencies?

They are dental incidences that require immediate medical intervention. Dental emergencies are often characterized by urgency and severity. Ideally, without the intervention of a dentist, the condition can quickly progress and cause permanent damage to your oral cavity.

What Causes Dental emergencies?

Various factors can cause severe dental problems, including the following:

• Poor oral hygiene for a prolonged period
• Dental-related accident or injury – especially if you do not wear a mouthguard during intense physical activities
• Poor oral habits like biting fingernails and opening lids and cans with your teeth
• Eating hard foods like ice cubes and popcorn kernels
• Excessive teeth grinding – also called bruxism
• Leaving standard dental problems untreated for a long period – they progress and worsen in severity

Top 5 Dental Emergencies in Dentistry

If you are unsure you need emergency dental care, consider the following most popular dental emergencies in dentistry:

• Knocked-out and displaced teeth – your tooth can fall off after a dental injury. You need urgent attention from a dentist near you in Berkeley Heights, NJ. A knocked-out and displaced tooth is a dental emergency because it subjects you to intense pain, bleeding, and swelling. Besides, if you make it to an emergency room in good time, the dentist can restore your tooth and avoid tooth loss.
• Soft tissue injury – refers to any trauma in the soft tissues of your oral cavity. It ranges from the tongue, palate, and gums to the inner cheeks and lips. Soft tissue injuries often feature swollen, bleeding, and painful open wounds.
• Tooth fracture – other than a knocked-out tooth, you need an emergency dentist to fix a cracked tooth. Cracked and chipped teeth are common after dental-related accidents. While sometimes only the tooth’s exterior is damaged, the damage can be severe enough to impact the nerve endings, causing a severe toothache.
• Lost filling or dental crown – besides fixing a missing tooth, our dentist at Jersey Smile handles several dental emergencies involving dislodged dental restorations. The most common ones are dental fillings and dental crowns. When you break or lose a tooth filling or crown, it can cause severe tooth pain and hypersensitivity if you do not get immediate help.
• Broken orthodontics – patients with braces encounter dental emergencies when they break their teeth aligners. The breakage can cause soft tissue injuries, tooth fractures, and other dental complications.

If your oral problem is not among the top five dental emergencies listed, consider the following factors to know whether you need urgent care:

• Pain levels – dental emergencies are often marked by excruciating pain levels.
• Bleeding – call a dentist immediately if you experience prolonged bleeding in your mouth.
• Degree of swelling – examine whether inflammation spreads in different parts of your oral cavity and upper body.
• A foreign object stuck in your mouth – particularly between your teeth
• Inability to eat, speak or breathe properly

What Should You Do When You Have a Dental Emergency?

Immediately you realize you are experiencing an oral emergency, follow the following guidelines to manage your oral health:

• Gauze the wound to control the bleeding – use a clean cloth if you cannot access gauze near you.
• Keep your head elevated to manage the swelling, bleeding, and pain levels.
• Take pain medication to alleviate some of your pain.
• Cold compress – using an ice pack to reduce inflammation and alleviate the pain.
• Locate the missing parts – whether your natural tooth or a dental appliance. Once you find it, preserve it well to deliver to your dentist.
• Contact a dentist immediately.

Measures to Enforce to Avoid Dental emergencies

• Avoid hard foods that can break and crack your teeth.
• Wear a mouthguard to protect your jaw and teeth from external impact. A night guard will also help alleviate the effects of teeth grinding at night.
• Treat dental issues early.
• Brush and floss your teeth daily.
• Visit your dentist regularly for dental exams and teeth cleaning sessions.
• Eat healthily to prevent cavities and other oral infections.