What Qualifies as a Dental Emergency?

It's common to feel anxious or alarmed when there's an issue with your smile. Our Lux Dental dentists recognize this but advise you to carefully assess your oral health situation. Not every issue requires immediate treatment or falls under the category of dental emergencies.

Here’s what qualifies as a dental emergency and when we suggest seeking assistance from our team of dentists.

Identifying an Emergency

When you experience any kind of pain in your mouth, it's tempting to consider it an emergency. Although it's sensible to consult our dentists about any discomfort, not every issue warrants an immediate visit.

Critical Dental Emergencies Encompass:

• Broken or cracked tooth

• Knocked-out tooth

• Abscessed tooth

• Continuous or severe toothache

• Bleeding injuries to soft tissues such as the cheeks, gums, tongue, or lips

  
  

If you're facing any of the mentioned issues, contact our Vancouver dental office immediately. Our team will assess your teeth and gums to determine the right treatment to relieve your condition.

What You Can Do at Home (Before Seeing Us)

It's clear that our dentists are best equipped to handle a dental emergency. However, what should you do to manage the situation until you can get an appointment? Here are steps to follow for a few common dental emergencies.

Broken or Cracked Tooth

• Preserve any fragments of the tooth.

• Use warm water to rinse your mouth and clean any broken tooth fragments.

• Apply gauze to the area if there is bleeding.

• Apply a cold compress to the outside of the mouth, cheek, or lip to keep any swelling down.

• Call our dental office ASAP.

Knocked-out Tooth

• Find the tooth and grab it by the crown (top).

• Rinse the tooth off with warm water if it’s dirty. Do not scrub.

• If you can, position the tooth correctly, then attempt to reinsert it into the socket. If it's a baby tooth, this step isn't necessary.

• If that's not feasible, consider keeping the tooth in your mouth on your way to our office or placing it in a container of milk.

• Contact us and reach our office within an hour of your tooth being knocked out to improve the likelihood of saving it.

Dental Abscess

• If you notice a painful pimple-like bump on your gum, contact our office right away. You might be dealing with a dental abscess.

• Before your appointment, rinse your mouth with a mild saltwater solution several times daily (½ tsp. of salt in 8 oz. of water) to help alleviate the pain and bring the pus to the surface.

Prolonged or Severe Toothache

• Rinse your mouth with warm water to remove any food particles.

• Gently floss to dislodge any food trapped between your teeth.

• Avoid placing aspirin on the painful tooth or gums.

• Use over-the-counter ibuprofen for pain management as necessary.

• Contact our dental office immediately.

Is It Possible to Prevent Certain Dental Injuries?

Dental emergencies are generally unexpected. However, you can take some simple precautions in your daily life to prevent injuries.

• Wear a Mouthguard When Playing Sports

• Pace Yourself with Hard Snacks

• Be mindful of your surroundings

Don’t Push Dental Pain Aside

If you are experiencing any pain that does not improve with at-home remedies, please contact our office immediately. Our team will strive to see you as soon as possible to prevent any loss of critical time.

We strongly advise against ignoring dental pain or tooth damage. Postponing treatment can adversely affect your oral health and increase the risk of long-term issues.

Depending on the severity of your condition, we may suggest that you first visit a nearby emergency room. If we are unable to treat you immediately or if you have sustained injuries beyond your mouth, please proceed to the ER.

Take Action: Seek Dental Care ASAP

Don’t delay if you’ve got serious dental pain on your hands. Our emergency dentists in Vancouver, BC, can provide you with immediate care and get you back to feeling like yourself again. Call Lux Dental today at (604) 670-1256 or schedule an appointment online.