What To Do After a Dental Injury

Your teeth are very durable, but they can cut your mouth, chip, or even get knocked out completely! Dental injuries are common for athletes, but anyone can experience an injury at any time. What should you do? Here are some of the best tips:

Stay Calm

Dental injuries can be very painful and scary, but panicking will only make the situation worse. Try to stay as relaxed as possible by taking deep breaths, talking calmly to yourself (or the person experiencing the injury), and getting in touch with a dentist as soon as you can. Being prepared can reduce stress, so before an injury happens, save Alma Dental Care’s number in your phone and have a first aid kit on hand.

Address Severe Bleeding First

Bleeding should be addressed right away. Get a clean washcloth and apply firm, direct pressure to your injury. You may be tempted to lean back, but that will only cause blood to run down the back of your throat. Stay seated, so if you get light-headed, you won’t fall and injure yourself even more.

Assess Injury Severity

Unless you’re a dentist, it’s difficult to know just how bad an injury is, but you can get an idea by pausing for a moment. Are you in a lot of pain? Is there blood? Can you tell you’ve broken a tooth? You should consult a dentist even for minor dental injuries, but assessing the severity right away can help you identify how urgent the issue is and if you need to set aside time for immediate treatment.

Avulsed or Chipped Teeth

If you’ve chipped or avulsed your tooth completely, try and find your tooth! With breaks, we can bond broken-off pieces back on your tooth in some cases, and if you act quickly enough, we can try to save a knocked-out tooth. You’ll want to gently rinse off the tooth and reinsert if possible. Carefully handle the tooth and avoid touching the root. Otherwise, keep it in a container of milk, hold it in your cheek, or in a cup of your saliva. The key is to keep it moist. Call us as soon as possible.

Visit Alma Dental Care in Petaluma, CA for Dental Injuries

Dr. Serrano and the team are happy to offer emergency dentistry at our office. We treat injuries like chipped and knocked-out teeth, as well as toothaches, infections, and more. If you ever experience a dental injury, please give us a call for advice or to set up an appointment right away!

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Categorised in: Dental Emergencies