Be Prepared For A Dental Emergency!

Be Prepared For A Dental Emergency!

 

Most of us have a first aid kit – or some mix of first aid supplies – stashed somewhere in our house. It contains bandaids, smelling salts, gauze, and a few other items, but rarely does it contain what you need to treat a dental emergency.

Dental emergencies do happen, and it pays to be prepared when they do. Whether it’s a toothache, a fracture, or a knocked-out tooth you need to be ready for anything! You can always count on our West Chester team to help you as soon as possible, but you still need to know how to deal with the first few minutes of your situation.

What You Need To Triage A Dental Emergency

The first few items you need are used to identify, clean, and stabilize dental injuries. Make sure you keep all of these around – you never quite know what’s going to go wrong.

  • Non-Latex Gloves: keeping a few pairs of these in your emergency kit is essential. A non-latex material is a must too – you never know who you might be helping and what they might be allergic to.
  • A Dental Mirror: use one of these to help you identify the injury and get a good look at it. Not every accident happens in an easy-to-see location!
  • A Penlight: keeping a small flashlight around is a good idea too. Use it in conjunction with your dental mirror so you can get a good look at an injury.
  • Gauze Pads: these are ideal for absorbing blood and cleaning off debris. We recommend individually wrapped ones for sterility.
  • Cotton Swabs: great for cleaning a wound and applying topical ointments. Make sure that you keep them in a sealed container – you don’t want to end up with dirty swabs when you need them the most!
  • Cotton Balls: not only can you use cotton balls to clean an injury, but you can also use them to pad and cushion an injured spot as well.
  • Alcohol Wipes: you definitely need some of these around. Use them to clean wounds and sterilize the area. We recommend individually packaged ones.
  • Salt: having just a bit of this in your emergency kit can make for an easily-prepared mouth rinse. Salt is great at sterilizing wounds and cleaning out infections.

How To Make Eliminate Pain And Prevent More Damage

Now that you’ve figured out just what’s going on it’s time to do some initial treatment and preparation to stop things from getting worse. There are a wide variety of products you can use to help, all depending on the kind of injury you have.

  • Ibuprofen: this is the pain reliever of choice, especially in cases that involve bleeding. You never want to use aspirin to treat dental pain, as it thins the blood and can make any bleeding worse.
  • Topical Anesthetic: products like Orajel are great at eliminating pain in soft tissue like gums and your tongue. It does wear off fairly fast, however, so be sure you keep it around for any necessary re-applications.
  • Dental Wax: This is the perfect product for protecting your mouth from a sharply broken tooth or a broken orthodontic wire. It’s soft, pliable, and can be found at most drugstores.
  • Temporary Filling Material: keep a tube of this around to help treat any fillings that may fall out of their teeth. It’s easy to apply and can make the situation much more bearable.
  • Vaseline: it surprises a lot of people, but vaseline is a great way to reattach a crown that’s fallen off. Simply fill the crown with it and pop it back in place. It should stay perfectly secure until you can get in to see us.
  • Cold Compresses: In cases of swelling, infection, or pain a cold compress can make all the difference. The best kind to keep in your first aid kit are the instant activation ones that you can just throw away afterward. They’re much easier than trying to find the one you keep in the freezer!

In Case Of Emergency Contact Us Right Away!

We take emergencies seriously at the office of Dr. K.C. Sykora, DDS. We do everything we can to see emergency patients the very same day they call, so never hesitate to contact us! We’ll even try to see you after hours if we have to.

You can reach our West Chester office by calling 610-314-7534. For non-emergency needs you can request an appointment online. We hope to see you – in good shape – soon!