When to Seek Emergency Dental Services in Silver Spring, MD

It’s important to know the kinds of injuries that require emergency dental services in Silver Spring, MD so you can be sure your family’s teeth are well taken care of and so you can avoid unnecessary visits to the emergency room. As you know, accidents can happen anytime and anywhere. Some injuries may require immediate attention, while other could wait for your dentist’s normal business hours in Silver Spring, MD.

Some familiar types of mouth injuries include:

  • Cracked, chipped or broken tooth caused by biting on something hard, being hit in the mouth, falling, or a cavity that has weakened the tooth
  • Sports-related injury or another type of accident
  • Broken jaw
  • Knocked out tooth

A cracked tooth or chipped tooth can usually wait for a call to your dentist; it all depends on the severity of the injury. It may look fine but hurts when you eat or drink something hot or cold. You may have damaged a nerve or blood vessel.

If you broke your tooth and a large piece is missing you should seek emergency dental services. Until you get to the dentist office In Silver Spring, MD, you should rinse your mouth with warm water; apply pressure with a piece of gauze, if bleeding, for about 10 minutes or until bleeding stops. If that doesn’t work, use a tea bag with pressure on the area that is bleeding. Take over the counter pain reliever if you are experiencing any pain. Your dentist may suggest a root canal if the tooth’s nerve has been damaged.

If you have a knocked-out tooth, a permanent (adult) tooth not a baby tooth, in most cases, it can be replanted into your mouth. If your tooth gets completely knocked out, you should seek emergency dental services. These are some things you can do to preserve the tooth which will give you a better chance of having your tooth replanted and saved.

First Aid for a Knocked Out Tooth

  1. Bring the tooth to your dentist as soon as possible.
  2. Hold the tooth only by the crown (the chewing edge).
  3. Try placing the tooth back into the hole where the tooth fell out; level with your other teeth. Take a piece of gauze or a wet tea bag and place over the tooth, bite down gently to keep in place. Be careful so that you do not swallow the tooth.
  4. If you can’t place it back into your mouth, put the tooth into a container covered by a small amount of cow’s milk or saliva.
  5. You can hold the tooth between your lower lip and gum or under the tongue.

Do Nots for a Knocked Out Tooth

  1. DO NOT handle the roots of the tooth, only the chewing edge which is the top portion (the crown) of the tooth.
  2. DO NOT wipe or scrape dirt or food from the root of the tooth.
  3. DO NOT brush the tooth or clean with alcohol or peroxide.

Anytime you have a broken or chipped tooth it is best to seek emergency dental services in Silver Spring, MD to save your tooth. If you have an accident and you can’t close your upper or lower teeth together, you may have a broken jaw. You need medical help immediately. Depending on your dentist’s emergency dental services, most hospitals in Silver Spring, MD have on-call dentists, and it could be possible to have your own dentist called in for such an emergency.

TIDBIT: Add a first aid item such as Save-a-Tooth or EMT Tooth Saver to your first aid kit storage container. These tooth-saving storage devices may be available at your dentist’s office. These kits contain a travel case with fluid solution.