Dental emergencies always occur when you least expect them. Some dental emergencies need immediate care. A dental emergency may occur to your teeth, gums, soft tissue, or jaw. At Westwood Dental, Dr. Reynolds and his team understand how painful a dental emergency could be, and so we provide immediate assistance as well.

What are the types of dental emergencies?

Knocked-Out Tooth

A tooth may get knocked out while being involved in active sports activities or a hard fall. This situation needs urgent dental care. If your tooth falls out of the socket, try to stay calm. If possible, contact us immediately, and by the time you reach our dental office, it would be better if you hold the tooth by its crown only. Gently rinse the tooth without using any soap or chemicals, and don’t wash off the tooth’s root. After that, place it back in the socket. If you fear doing that, put it in a milk container or your saliva and visit your dentist soon.

Broken, Chipped, or Cracked Tooth

You may get your tooth chipped or cracked while biting a hard piece of food, hard candy, or chewing ice. In this condition, our dentist can save your tooth by using a tooth filling. If your tooth is broken, then it can be restored with a dental crown.

Toothache

Tooth pain can be a challenging situation. The worst is the tooth, along with its gums or surrounding tissue, also begins feeling miserable. Such a situation might occur due to many reasons like dental trauma, a deep cavity, cracked filling, teeth grinding, etc. In most cases, the tooth starts showing signs and symptoms days before the pain occurs. If you keep neglecting those signs, it will lead to a dental emergency.

Tooth Abscess

Tooth or gum abscesses may begin developing due to dental trauma that you left untreated. A pocket of pus is created at the tooth root leading to a tooth or gum abscess. Its signs and symptoms include unbearable toothache, fever, bad breath, swollen gums, jaw, or face. This won’t heal on its own, so instead, visit your dentist in its initial stage, or else it might spread to other parts of your body.

What should I do if my tooth cannot be saved?

If your knocked-out tooth, broken tooth, or a tooth that underwent a dental trauma cannot be saved, then you can restore it permanently. A dental implant can serve your purpose. This dental solution will act exactly like your natural teeth thus, keeping you healthy and enhancing your appearance. Still, we suggest that saving your natural tooth is the best option of all.

In case of a dental emergency, call us at (801) 716-7006 to receive immediate help. If you experience a life-threatening emergency, call 9-1-1.