A dental emergency can hit you at the worst times. Like when you’re on a ten-hour flight to Fiji, or you’re in the middle of driving to the biggest job interview of your life.
To significantly reduce the risk of finding yourself in a horrific dental situation, there are some tips you can use, and practice regularly, to help avoid dental emergencies.
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- Practice A Good Oral Cleaning Routine
You’ve heard it time and time again: brush your teeth twice a day and floss regularly. There’s a reason that rule was embedded into your brain at an early age. It’s because it works. Doing so helps maintain a healthy mouth and significantly reduces the risk of developing a condition that would constitute as a dental emergency.
- Watch Your Diet
Sugary foods are bad for your teeth and cause cavities. Decay leads to a slew of other problems that can result in a dental emergency. Eating healthy foods will help ensure your teeth stay healthy.
Acidic and sugary drinks like sodas and sports beverages sit on your teeth and erode the enamel. Drink these in moderation and brush your teeth afterward. Water is the best drink of choice.
- Quit Smoking
Smoking causes gum disease, which leads to bone loss, that results in your teeth falling out because there’s nothing to hold them in place. Quitting smoking will help ensure your teeth, bone, and gums stay healthy.
- Be Aware of Your Teeth
You only get one set of permanent teeth so you should do your best to be aware, and do right by them. Try to avoid certain bad habits that can cause a dental emergency like biting fishing line, or opening beer bottles with your teeth. If something feels “off”, see our Mesa dentist for an exam before you head out of town for the weekend.
- Protect Your Mouth
If you grind or clench your teeth a night guard will protect them from damage.
Also, if you’re involved in contacts sports, make sure to use a mouthpiece to prevent a tooth from breaking, getting shoved in, or being knocked out.
- Visit Our Mesa Dentist Regularly
With the help of Dr. Huynh and his skilled team in Mesa, AZ, you can avoid a dental emergency.
Professional cleanings should be done at least twice per year to remove the plaque and tartar buildup that brushing and flossing leaves behind.
Dental exams are also important, and issues can be spotted in their early stages before it gets worse and turns into an emergency.
- Don’t Delay Dental Treatment
If our Mesa dentist spots a condition that requires your attention, you should get it taken care of right away. Postponing dental treatment that has been recommended will put you at risk for developing an infection or suffering from severe pain.
You also become more likely to spread the condition to other teeth, needing more invasive treatment that costs more, and even risks the chance on losing your tooth.
What is Considered a Dental Emergency and What To Do?
How do you know if what you’re dealing with is defined as a dental emergency? In general, any problem that involves uncontrollable bleeding, the inability to alleviate severe pain, or anything that might risk a tooth not being able to be saved, is considered an emergency.
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Dental abscesses can get so bad that they keep you up at night an no amount of over the counter pain medication seems to help. In this case, you’ll need to seek a dental professional for a prescription antibiotic and pain reliever.
Infection from a tooth can become so severe that it spreads to your face, swelling your eye shut, closing off your throat and airway, and causing a high fever. You may end up needing to be admitted to the hospital and be administered IV antibiotics.
It’s important to know that toothaches do not go away. Medication will only temporarily keep the symptoms at bay. The only way to permanently get rid of pain is to go through the treatment that our Mesa, AZ dentist recommends
Other issues that should be seen about right away include teeth that break, chip, and/or crack, a broken jaw, a bitten tongue, and sports injuries.
Emergency Dentist in Mesa, AZ
Our Dr. Huynh and the Eastport Dental team is here for you at the drop of a hat. When you’re a patient of ours you can rest assured knowing that we’ve got your back. If you find yourself in the need of immediate dental attention, then give us a call right away. Eastport Dental will be glad to take care of you.
