Dental Emergency

Sports and outdoor activities are great for your health and wellbeing. However, being careful and playing safe is always very important. Participants should be prepared to deal with possible injuries. They should know who to call in case of a broken tooth, and how to preserve a knocked-out tooth while getting to the dentist.
The best way to deal with a sports-related dental emergency is to prevent them in the first place. This can be done through basic practices like playing with softer balls, paying more attention during games, and choosing less aggressive sports. Wearing mouthguards is also extremely important in certain sports. Fighters, rugby players, and those playing aggressive sports should wear mouth guards without fail.

Teeth with chips and fractures are a very common dental injury. Chipped teeth can happen relatively easily if the teeth come into sudden contact with a harder object. The most common causes of chipped teeth are ball sports and sudden uncontrolled movements. These are frequent in gymnastics, dance classes, or physical fights.
If you or your child has a chipped or broken tooth, it’s essential to visit a dentist within 12 hours after the injury. The longer you wait, the higher the chance of complications. It’s also important to try and find all of the pieces of the broken tooth and bring them with you to the appointment. Reattaching them to the crown of the original tooth may be possible, using a tooth-colored bonding substance. If not, a crown may be needed over the tooth, to bring its shape back to the original.

A knocked-out tooth is a very real dental emergency. Luckily, with proper care and rapid response, it can be taken care of. If a permanent tooth is knocked out of its socket, it must be dealt with immediately and on the spot. The tooth must be recovered, and if it got dirty, cleaned gently with water. Avoid touching the root part of the tooth. Try to gently place the tooth back inside its original socket, paying attention to its orientation within the mouth. After the tooth is replaced, apply pressure to it gently, for around five minutes. It’s recommended to use a small wad of wet tissue to help hold the tooth in place.
Seeking emergency dental treatment will be required. Patients should also pay attention to things like getting booster tetanus shots if needed. If the tooth knocked out was a baby tooth, it probably won’t need to be replaced.

Displaced teeth, or teeth that have been partially driven into or pushed out of the jaw, require immediate dental care. Preferably, patients should see a dentist within six hours of the incident. The tooth will be examined physically, and often with the help of an x-ray too. These will show the extent of the trauma. They’ll also help the dentist decide what treatment is the best fit to save and restore the tooth.
At Dr. Filangeri’s, we deal with dental emergencies of all kinds. The above-mentioned cases are the most common ones, but many other types of injuries exist too. What’s important is that no matter what the injury may be, the patient receives emergency dental care as soon as possible.