Your Tooth Has Been Knocked Out
This constitutes an emergency for a number of reasons, the most obvious one being the sheer amount of pain you’ll likely find yourself in. However, there’s another factor to remember – if your tooth is still in one piece, it can possibly be saved!
You need to act fast (like you would with any other part of your body you would want to be reattached). Carefully pick up the tooth by the crown – being careful to avoid the root – and rinse it off. Remember: rinse, not scrub. You don’t want to do anything that could further damage your tooth.
Now, you have two options. The first is to reinsert the tooth if you can. However, if this is too painful or difficult, your other option is to place your tooth in a small container of milk.
Whatever option you choose, you need to then rush to your nearest Rigby dental clinic.
Your Tooth Has Become Loose
As an adult, a loose tooth is not something you want to ignore. When it falls out, you don’t get a new one for free – Nature already handed that out once, and she won’t do it again.
There are, of course, a number of different things that can cause a tooth to become loose – trauma, gum disease, infection – but whatever the case may be, you need to see your Rigby dentist to have the problem diagnosed and ultimately fixed.
You Have a Dental Abscess Forming
Dental abscesses usually form at the gumline near the tooth nerve. An abscess tends to resemble a pimple, but it’s actually an inflamed pocket of pus as a result of advanced dental infection.
Yes, this is just as painful as it sounds, and what’s more, it’s also potentially dangerous. As the infection has fairly easy access to the bloodstream, it can cause blood infections, which is why a fever is one of the symptoms of a dental abscess. Others include:
- Intense tooth pain
- Sensitivity to cold and hot temperatures
- Headache
- Swollen, tender lymph nodes
- Swelling in the face
Schedule an appointment with your Rigby dental clinic – your Rigby dentist can offer the most ideal solution. It may be a root canal or, if the tooth is severely decayed, a dental extraction.
Your Tooth is Broken
Sometimes, broken teeth don’t actually hurt – at least not at first. Other times, you know you’ve broken a tooth right away. Either way, if your tooth is broken – whether it’s a little chip, a large crack, or you’re spitting out tooth chunks – you need to schedule an appointment at your Rigby dental clinic immediately.
If left untreated, a broken tooth is a prime candidate for advanced tooth decay, as the damage leaves it vulnerable to the onslaught of acidic and bacteria-laden plaque.
Depending on the nature of the damage, your dentist can likely find the best treatment – most likely, it will be a dental crown.
You Have a Metallic Taste in Your Mouth
This is something to watch out for if you’ve ever had a metal filling. Tasting metal in your mouth out of nowhere is a big sign that one of your fillings has become damaged or loose.
The reason this constitutes a dental emergency is that this leaves the filling spot of your tooth open to infection. The sooner you contact your Rigby dental clinic and have the damage repaired, the better.
Painful Gums & Excessive Bleeding
If brushing your teeth is painful and causes a lot of bleeding, this is one of the early signs of periodontal disease, otherwise known simply as gum disease.
Gum disease forms when plaque wears away at the gumline. Your body responds by releasing a hormone that causes the gums to become inflamed. (Inflammation is one of your body’s ways of protecting itself against infection and damage.)
It’s important to catch gum disease in its early stage, gingivitis; early treatment can reverse the problem and ultimately cure it. However, if left to progress, gingivitis can turn into the advanced form of gum disease called periodontitis. This stage is unfortunately irreversible (although it is still treatable).
Your Rigby dentist can offer a number of periodontal disease treatments.
