Preventing Dental Emergencies: Advice from an Emergency Dentist

Preventing an emergency dental treatment is as crucial as taking good care of your oral health. Why? That’s because dental emergencies are painful, urgent, and can be expensive. As much as you don’t want them to happen, lack of knowledge and preparedness can lead to a dental emergency.

However, there’s no need to stress out too much! Because preventing an emergency dental treatment is not as strenuous as you may think. With the right advice from our emergency dentist, the steps you need to know, and take are simple and inexpensive. Dr. Navdeep Virk of Dentistry at Bonney Lake has seen plenty of dental emergencies, and here’s what he recommends to keeping dental emergencies at bay.

Practicing Good Oral Hygiene

As the foundation of good dental health in general, it is important to practice good oral hygiene habits daily. Brush your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and floss once a day to maintain healthy teeth and mouth. When you are brushing your teeth, make sure to also gently brush your gums, tongue, and roof of your mouth.

Doing this can prevent unwanted dental issues such as cavities, dental caries, gingivitis, or periodontal disease. Poor dental hygiene can eventually cause dental emergencies such as dental abscesses and severe toothache.

Wearing a Mouthguard

Mouthguards are dental devices that help protect your teeth, gums, and soft tissues of the mouth from dental injuries. If you engage in activities such as sports, boxing, or martial arts, dental emergencies can occur if the teeth are not protected. They can get chipped, knocked out, or suffer from dental trauma in the form of cracked teeth.

Wearing a mouthguard offers the additional advantage of providing cushioning for the jaw if you receive a blow to the face. Dr. Virk recommends wearing a custom-made mouthguard for maximum dental protection and comfort. This is the best option for dental safety as it provides a perfect fit and helps reduce dental emergencies.

Avoiding Hard Foods and Other Objects

Eating hard foods such as candy, nuts, and ice can cause dental fractures. Chewing on pencils or fingernails can also damage the teeth’ enamel and lead to dental emergencies. Therefore, it is best to avoid eating hard foods and chewing on objects that can damage the teeth.

When eating hard foods, Dr. Virk recommends cutting food into smaller pieces and chewing slowly to protect the teeth from dental trauma. On the other hand, foods like candies and ice aren’t supposed to be chewed so make sure not to develop such a habit.

Not Using Your Teeth as Tools

Using your teeth as tools can cause damage such as dental fractures and cracked teeth. Many people have the habit of biting their nails, chewing on bottle caps, or using their teeth to open packages. Doing so can lead to chipped teeth, gum recession, dental injuries, and sometimes even dental emergencies.

If you find yourself often needing to open a bottle or package, it is best to use the right tools for the job. Keep a multi-purpose tool handy in your bag or pocket at all times.

Visiting Your Dentist Regularly

As you may have known, prevention is always better than cure. And for dental issues that aren’t visible to the eye, a dental check-up is necessary for proper dental care. For instance, visiting your dentist every 6 months can help detect dental issues like cavities, dental caries, gum disease, teeth misalignment, and even oral cancer at an early stage.

At Dentistry at Bonney Lake, we perform comprehensive evaluations and procedures at each dental visit to identify any dental issues or risks of dental emergencies. These may include an X-ray, screening, and dental cleaning.

Acting Fast in Case of an Emergency

While these aforementioned tips are very helpful, it’s also worth it to know how to deal with a dental emergency if it ever happens to you or a loved one. The most important thing is to know what is and isn’t a dental emergency. Then, contact your dentist to schedule an emergency appointment. Make sure to tell them what happened over the phone so they can be prepared to handle the dental emergency.

On the other hand, if you think the dental emergency is severe and urgent, you can go to your nearest hospital’s emergency room immediately. Nevertheless, contacting your emergency dentist at Bonney Lake is the first step to take. To avoid unnecessary dental emergency visits, here are the dental issues that may require immediate attention:

• Severe dental pain
• Broken or cracked teeth that cause pain (if it isn’t causing major discomfort, you can simply schedule a regular dentist appointment)
• Knocked out tooth (also check if it can or cannot wait)
• Swelling in the mouth or gums
• Object stuck in the teeth or gums
• Dental abscess
• Broken or damaged appliance (especially if it is causing major discomfort; if not, schedule the earliest appointment that isn’t an emergency visit)

Best Emergency Dentist in Bonney Lake, WA

If a dental emergency occurs, don’t panic! Contact Dentistry at Bonney Lake and we’ll be prepared and willing to help. We offer dental services such as dental exams, dental cleaning, dental fillings, dental crowns, root canals, and more.

Plus, we also handle dental emergencies as well, so you don’t have to worry about waiting for an available dental appointment. Just give us a call and we’ll make sure to provide you with emergency dental treatment. We may also offer valuable advice, so you know how to deal with your situation before your emergency appointment.

Contact us at (253) 236-7456 or check out our website to make an appointment. Our office is located at 21230 WA-410, Bonney Lake, WA.