Dental Emergencies are Discussed by Warren Dentist

Hi. I’m Doctor Greg Apsey here in Warren, Michigan, at 11270 13 Mile Road. I’d like to speak today about dental emergencies and what you should do in case you’re having one. They can vary from a tooth being knocked out to a swelling in the gums to a painful toothache. They usually come at very inconvenient times. And I want to let you know that we are very available to you at any point where you might have a dental emergency. If you call our office there is a phone number that goes directly to me and is my mobile phone. And if you’re having a dental emergency at any time of the day or night you can call and reach me directly and I’ll be able to help you deal with the problem that you’re having.

I want to give you a few tips about what to do in case of dental emergency. One, if you’re having swelling in your gums or in your face, it is very, very important that you deal with that problem immediately. The things that you can do for yourself at home right away would be to make a mixture of warm water and salt. One cup of water to a teaspoon of salt. Mix it real well and swish that around in your mouth four to five times per day until you’re able to get in to the dental office. The purpose of that is to help draw the infection out into your mouth and allow it to drain. What we don’t want you to do is to put anything hot, especially hot on your face or if you have to sleep through the night with the swelling we don’t want you lying on that side. We don’t want heat on in the area of the swelling, because what happens is that the infection will tend to go towards the heat. It’ll go further into your tissues. And that’s a more dangerous and more difficult situation. Tooth infections unfortunately cause people to go to the emergency room. People are dying from serious tooth infections. So it’s not something to play with, not something to leave alone. Get into the dental office as soon as possible. And like I say, you can reach us on our emergency number any time, and we will help you deal with that. You’ll also need to be on an antibiotic as soon as possible. You may need to have that infection drained. And you’re going to have to either have the tooth extracted, or to get root canal treatment if that’s possible.But definitely do not delay treatment of that sort of thing.

If a tooth is knocked out, of course, as we start getting into spring time and summer, kids are out on their bikes, kids are playing sports, accidents happen and teeth are knocked out. What we recommend, if a tooth is knocked out completely, we recommend that you at least put the tooth into milk and get into the dental office as soon as possible. The tooth will be cleaned and hopefully repositioned into the socket. It will then be attached to the adjacent teeth and stabilized. And in many cases that tooth will reattach and be okay. It’s not going to be a perfect situation. There may be more treatment necessary down the road for that tooth. Usually a root canal is necessary to make that tooth healthy enough that it’ll last for a good long time. And the tooth will need to be monitored with X-rays every year to make sure that the root is still healthy. Definitely bring a tooth in as quickly as possible. If you cannot get into the dental office immediately, what we recommend is that you clean the tooth off very well under tap water and put the tooth back in place. It’s better than not putting it in. The longer the tooth is out of the mouth the worse the prognosis is for saving the tooth.

If a tooth has chipped again, if you have the piece that’s chipped off and if it’s just one large piece that has come off, bring that piece in. Sometimes the piece can be actually reattached to the tooth. We would have to check the tooth and make sure the nerve isn’t exposed. But again, you’re going to want to get in as soon as possible to have that dealt with. But save any part of the tooth that may have come loose.

A Toothache is also an issue that you may confront that may be serious, or it may not be serious. It depends on the situation. But again, you should come in and have an examination done. Tooth pain can vary from sensitivity to sweets, sensitivity to temperatures, or sensitivity to touch. But in any case, it can indicate that the nerve in the tooth is dying, that there is tooth decay in the tooth, or that you may have an underlying sinus infection or an infected tooth. So in any case when you have tooth pain you should come on in and have it checked, and really as far as home remedies go for tooth pain, there’s not a whole lot. It’s best to understand what the cause of the toothache is, and then after that, make a discussion with your dentist as to what is the best possible way to take care of it.

Thank you for listening.

Dental Emergencies are Discussed by Warren Dentist

If you are experiencing a dental emergency or would like more information, please contact our Warren office at (586) 573-7700.

Dental Emergencies are Discussed by Warren Dentist