Although a painful issue will quickly persuade us that we have a dental emergency on our hands, some dental emergencies aren’t painful, but are urgent if you hope to save your tooth. For example, a filling that has fallen out or a broken tooth won’t necessarily hurt unless the nerve is exposed, but should nevertheless be treated as urgent since the exposed area is vulnerable to further decay. Green Apple Dental is your local emergency dentist in Surrey, BC that offers the same day emergency appointments.

What constitutes a dental emergency?

Medical emergencies are much easier to define than dental emergencies – generally, they are classed as anything life-threatening or any condition that poses a threat to physical integrity or long-term health.

One method that is used to determine whether a dental issue is an emergency is to determine whether the patient is willing to go to a dentist at short notice. Obviously, severe dental trauma or a painful condition should be treated as soon as possible, and sometimes even cosmetic issues can be a social handicap that calls for speedy attention.

Swelling can be an indicator of a nasty infection or abscess, and since dental abscesses can affect your whole body and even cause death in rare cases, they should be treated as soon as possible. Most dentists consider the following as dental emergencies and will go out of their way to accommodate you as soon as possible:

• Injuries to the inside of the mouth that won’t stop bleeding (an emergency room can also help)
• Broken or loosened tooth or teeth
• Knocked out teeth
• Discomfort or pain owing to something stuck between teeth
• Painful toothaches
• Lost fillings or crowns
• Dental abscess

Prevention is better than cure

Avoiding dental emergencies is way better than having to deal with them. Limit your chances of experiencing an emergency by:

• Not chewing or biting things like ice, popcorn kernels or even sticky toffees.
• Using a scissors rather than your teeth to open packaging, etc.
• Not picking your teeth – use floss instead.
• Wearing a mouth guard when playing contact sports.
• Taking good care of your oral hygiene by brushing and flossing properly.
• Going for regular dental check-ups.
• Attending to non-painful or minor issues as soon as possible before they become aggravated through neglect.

In an emergency

To limit damage or to provide temporary relief, you can try the following:

• Rinse the mouth out with warm water or a mild saline solution.
• Stop bleeding with a gauze pad or clean teabag and light pressure.
• Apply clove oil to painful teeth or gums.
• Use a cold compress applied to the outside of the face.
• Swallow pain medications (do not apply aspirin directly to teeth or gums)
• Preserve knocked out teeth by keeping them in milk or by placing them in your mouth between teeth and lips.
• Use sugar-free gum to plug fallen out fillings.
• Use dental floss (not toothpicks or other sharp objects) to dislodge trapped objects.

At Green Apple we will always do our best to accomodate dental emergencies.  We can usually see you the same day.  Normally patients with an appointment are seen within 5-10 minutes of their scheduled appointment, but if it is a same day emergency please be aware there may be a 15-30 minute wait.  Usually treatment will begin and be completed the day of your visit, but in some cases further appointments will be necessary.  Just as with any other treatment, Dr. Cancar and Dr. Kooner will give you all options for treatment to alleviate pain, and restore function, and esthetics.

After hours Dr. Mirna Cancar or Dr. Pavandeep Kooner can be contacted on their personal cell phones.

The post Things to Know About Dental Emergencies appeared first on Surrey Dentist | Green Apple Dental | Surrey, BC.

Basic facts about dental emergency

You risk breaking your teeth while performing common daily activities such as eating, exercising or doing sports. That is why you should be familiar with the most common emergency injuries and know how to handle them to prevent the permanent tooth damage or lost. Waiting too long or ignoring emergency symptoms might result in serious problems and consequently more expensive treatment from your dentist (What to consider while looking for a new dentist in Surrey) later on.

Intense pain is usually one of the main reasons why people decide to contact an emergency dentist. However, you should not ignore any tooth or gum injury even if it seems minor at the first glance. The nerves can be also damaged and it can cause an infection that can spread to your neck if not treated properly.

So how do I know if it is an emergency? The simple rule says: if it hurts and it prevents you from daily activities such as eating, working or sleeping, it is an emergency and therefore should not be neglected. In addition, fast treatment increases the odds of saving the damaged tooth and it can save you from more expensive treatments such as dental implants later on. If you are in Surrey, and you are looking for a Surrey emergency dentist – Green Apple Dental is here to help! We accommodate most of the emergencies on the same day and our Surrey dentists have lots of experience in dealing with dental emergency cases.

How to avoid a dental emergency?

You can avoid the injuries by taking simple precautions such as wearing mouth-guards during sports, biting carefully and having your teeth checked regularly from your dentist in Surrey, BC to maintain healthy and strong teeth.

Even though taking precautions and being careful cannot not ensure that it will not happen to you, it can certainly minimize the risk of a dental emergency.

Here are the most common teeth and mouth injuries that require emergency dentist’s attention

Knocked out or Dislodged tooth

If your tooth has been knocked out, you should immediately call our office or attend the nearest emergency room. If the tooth has been removed from its socket, it still may be possible to save it if you act fast.

Try to put the knocked out tooth back in the socket and gently bit down on a gauze to hold it in the place. If it is not feasible, do not let the tooth dry and put it in the pocket of your cheek or place is in the glass of milk. Seek an emergency dentist immediately!

Cracked or Broken tooth

Depending on the level of damage a cracked or broken tooth may or may not require an immediate trip to a dental office. Put the hot water to your mouth to clean the area and place an ice-bag on your cheek to reduce the swelling. If the pain is sharp and it prevents you from eating or sleeping, call an emergency dentist immediately. If the tooth is broken and it is more of an aesthetic problem which is not accompanied by any severe pain, it might not require the same day appointment. However, you should call your dentist and schedule an appointment.

Tooth Pain

Mild pain, such as food sensitivity or dull aching can usually wait till next regularly scheduled appointment. However, intense and sharp pain might indicate a severe issue. In that case call a dental emergency office as soon as possible. In the meantime rinse your mouth with hot water. You can also use dental floss to remove any lodged food between your teeth. Do not put painkillers on the gum because it could burn the gum tissue!

Experiencing a dental emergency is a very uncomfortable situation but if handled immediately your tooth might be saved! If you are in need of an emergency dentist in Surrey, BC you can call Green Apple Dental at 604-597-1311 (our Fleetwood dental office) or at 604-503-1722 (our Newton dental office).

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