You know if you’re close to home and a dental accident or sudden toothache happens, you can call Dr. Paul Diaz in Tuscaloosa, and we’ll do everything we can to help you. But accidents can happen anywhere – whether it’s one mile from home or 1,000.
If you have kids, it’s not a bad idea to carry a first aid kit with you everywhere! There are also small dental emergency kits available as well. They often will contain oil of cloves, an applicator, and a small container to hold lost teeth or pieces of a tooth. If you have active children, or a child losing baby teeth, a kit like this isn’t a bad idea.
Sites like WebMD offer first aid tips:
Knocked-out tooth: Retrieve the tooth, hold it by the crown (the part that is usually exposed in the mouth), and gently rinse off the tooth root with water if it’s dirty. If possible, try to put the tooth back in place. If it’s not possible to reinsert the tooth in the socket, put the tooth in a small container of milk (or cup of water that contains a pinch of table salt, if milk is not available) or a product containing a cell growth medium, such as Save-a-Tooth.
Abscess: See a dentist as soon as possible if you discover a pimple-like swelling on your gum, especially if it’s painful. In the meantime, to ease the pain and draw the pus toward the surface, try rinsing your mouth with a mild salt-water solution (1/2 teaspoon of table salt in 8 ounces of water) several times a day.
Lost crown. If you can’t get to a dentist right away and the tooth is causing pain, use a cotton swab to apply a little clove oil to the sensitive area (clove oil can be purchased at your local drug store or in the spice aisle of your grocery store). If possible, slip the crown back over the tooth. Before doing so, coat the inner surface with an over-the-counter dental cement, toothpaste, or denture adhesive, to help hold the crown in place. Do not use super glue!
Many of these techniques can apply to nearly any dental emergency during the first few minutes. And get to a dentist as soon as possible, even if you’re out of town. The sooner your emergency receives appropriate care, the better your chances are of saving your tooth.
Once you return home, schedule an appointment at our dental office in Tuscaloosa at 205.210.4507 so Dr. Diaz can examine it, and if necessary restore it or touch it up with aesthetic dentistry.
