During the COVID-19 crisis, businesses are often closed or have limited hours and services. Dr. Heather Adams, a dentist in Rogers, AR, is no different. However, we’re available for dental emergencies to ensure you’re not in pain or suffering from an infection. Dr. Adams explains common dental emergencies and how to handle them until you’re able to be seen.
What to Do With a Dental Emergency
The first thing you should always do if you’re experiencing a dental emergency is to give us a call. We’ll get you into the office as soon as possible to get you taken care of. If you have one of the conditions below, here’s information about what you can do to help until you’re able to be seen in the office:
Severe Tooth Pain
Pain that’s sudden and sharp isn’t something you want to let go. Tooth pain is often caused by severe tooth decay or an abscess. If you can see an abscess, make sure that you don’t try to pop or pick at it. In other instances, you may not know what’s causing the pain until the dentist can diagnose it. Use over the counter pain medication to handle pain and a cold compress to ease any swelling until you can be seen.
Knocked-Out Tooth
Most importantly, don’t panic if your tooth is knocked out. If you can, retrieve the tooth. Be sure not to touch the tooth root and only pick it up by the crown. Gently rinse it off and make sure that you don’t do any scrubbing. This can harm any nerves that are exposed. Place the tooth in a cup of milk or your own saliva to keep it hydrated and preserve it as well as possible. Don’t try to put the tooth back in the socket yourself.
If your tooth can be preserved, Dr. Adams may be able to put it back in your mouth. However, that’s not always possible and the tooth can only be viable for so long. If this is the case, we offer many other replacement options for missing teeth in our office. Dr. Adams recommends dental implants, as they’re the most natural and complete replacement for a missing tooth.
Broken Dental Restoration
Dental crowns and bridges are designed to be sturdy restorations. But breaks can always happen. If you break or lose a dental crown, never try to put it back in your mouth. The dentist will likely not be able to put the same dental crown back. Instead, Dr. Adams will shape a new crown to replace the one you lost.
For dental bridges, bring all of the pieces of it with you to your appointment. Dr. Adams will decide if it’s something that can be repaired or if a fully new restoration should be made for you.
Your Dentist in Rogers, Arkansas
If you have a dental emergency, call us immediately. In addition, stress and anxiety can do a number on your smile. We’ll be here to help when the pandemic is over. Call us to schedule an appointment for the future. We hope to see you soon!