The first step in treating an injured tooth comes long before the tooth is injured. It starts with good dental care, this will help to keep your teeth strong.
For good dental care, you need a reliable and professional dentist Neutral Bay, then, if you do ever have an injured tooth, you’ll have someone you can contact immediately. That really helps when dealing with an injured tooth.
Types of Injury
The most common tooth injuries are the tooth being knocked out, a tooth being chipped, and a cracked or broken tooth. All of these scenarios need dental help.
However, it should be noted that a cracked tooth without pain does not necessarily constitute a medical emergency.
Treatment Methods
The approach to treatment will depend on the damage done:
Chipped Tooth
If the damage is only small then you don’t need to rush to your dentist, unless it’s painful or starts to become painful. Small chips can be reattached to your tooth. This means you’ll need to make an appointment and the dentist will decide whether a filling will suffice or if you’ll need a veneer or even a crown.
In some cases, it's possible just to smooth the damaged tooth and you’ll barely notice the difference
Cracked or broken
Cracked teeth need to be looked at quickly and they should be X-rayed to ensure there is no additional damage that isn’t obvious at first.
Your dentist should be able to do this as an emergency appointment. If this type of injury is left then it will cause decay and may necessitate the removal of the tooth.
In fact, in some cases, tooth removal is necessary simply because of the damage caused.
However, the usual approach is to fit a crown to protect the damaged tooth and restore the look of your mouth. This will also prevent bacteria from entering the tooth and causing an infection.
You should be aware that a cracked tooth is not always visible, hence the need for an x-ray. If you’ve hit your tooth on anything but it doesn’t appear damaged then you should still seek dental help, just to be certain. The most common symptoms are tooth pain while chewing and increased sensitivity.
Knocked Out
If your tooth is knocked out it can actually be re-implanted into its socket. However, successful implantations are only usually possible if the tooth is reattached within 30 - 120 minutes.
This gives you several options.
The best course of action is to rinse the tooth with just water and then push it back into its socket n your mouth while heading for the dentist. It is important to only touch the crown of the tooth, not the root.
If you’re not able to get it back into its socket then you should hold the tooth in your mouth, close to the gum line and get to the dentist. This will help it to stay alive as it will still be in its natural environment.
The third option, if you can’t manage either of the above, is to immerse it in milk. Again, you should handle it as little as possible and get to the dentist immediately.
The faster you have dental help the more likely I is that the tooth will be saved. If it isn’t you’ll need to look at an implant or bridge, it’s important to retain structural stability in your mouth.
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