Category: Services

What to do in a Dental Emergency

By Dr. Nazlia Ganji

You can’t plan for a dental emergency — and it’s something that might pop up at the most inconvenient of times. When the unexpected strikes, it is important for your oral and overall health that you know just how to react.

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The first Step?  Keep your cool.

What Is a Dental Emergency?

A dental emergency is anything that affects your oral health and needs to be treated promptly. If you have broken something in your mouth (like a tooth or piece of dental work) or if you are bleeding, you are having a dental emergency and need care right away. Don’t waste any time trying to be brave and tough it out — often, seeking prompt treatment is important for saving your smile.

Here are some of the most common dental emergencies:

1. A knocked out tooth
2. Toothache or an abscessed tooth
3. Broken or dislodged tooth
4. Something (foreign object) lodged between teeth
5. Lacerated gums

In the above cases, your dentist is often capable of providing better care more promptly than the emergency room. If, however, you or a loved one have broken a bone in the jaw or are bleeding profusely for more than 10 minutes, seek emergency medical care immediately.

Here’s What to Do Next

The first step you should take is to control the situation. If it’s your own smile, take a few breaths and assess what has happened. Help a loved one or child stay calm. Pick up and store any broken or knocked out pieces for possible reattachment. Place a clean gauze or cloth to a bleeding area to stop or slow the flow of blood. Once you have the situation under control, place a call to our office. We can provide additional first aid tips and schedule a time for you to come in as soon as is necessary given the situation.

A toothache may be treated with an emergency root canal, which can stop pain and rescue the tooth from extraction. If you make it into our office within two hours of losing a tooth, we can often reattach it as long as the root has not been damaged. Whatever treatment is appropriate for your smile, you can feel confident knowing you’ll be out of pain soon when you partner with our expert team.

Preventing Dental Emergencies

There are some steps you can take to safeguard your smile against dental emergencies. Some of the most important ones include…

1. Visit your dentist every six months for a checkup and cleaning
2. Wear a sports guard if you play contact sports
3. Invest in a protective night guard for grinding of teeth
4. Avoid habits like biting your nails and eating ice
5. Never open packages or cut through plastic with your teeth

If, however, you take all the right steps and a dental emergency still happens to you, have your dentist in your side!

Credit for the Blog:

The author of this blog is Dr. Nazlia Ganji, a trusted dentist serving Herndon and the surrounding area in Virginia in the US.

 

BRUSHING & BEYOND

By Cornerstone

Brushing your teeth every morning and night doesn’t guarantee you’re giving your mouth all the attention it needs. Cornerstone UK has a few oral health tips that will help you develop and maintain a great routine for a healthy mouth.

Having a thorough dental care routine that goes beyond just brushing your teeth, and ensuring you have the right tools in your bathroom cupboard can really take your oral health to another level and give you a good clean.

Here are our top tips for ensuring a healthy mouth and enamel.

Why is enamel so important?

The enamel on your teeth is a protective outer layer on each individual tooth. It is the hardest and most highly mineralized substance in your body. Every time you eat and drink, you expose your teeth to acids and bacteria that are in your food. This would seriously harm teeth if it weren’t for tooth enamel. It’s the most visible part of the tooth, it’s what people see when you smile or open your mouth.

When enamel is damaged or starts to decay you cannot restore it, it simply doesn’t grow back. Sensitivity to hot and cold foods can occur, because of this, there are a few oral hygiene steps to follow to ensure the maximum upkeep of tooth enamel.

Brush, brush, brush (but not too hard)

Many people brush regularly, but simply don’t brush enough for their teeth to stay clean.

NICE recommends brushing last thing at night and at one other time during the day with a fluoride toothpaste. Using an electric toothbrush is better for you and your enamel than manual toothbrushes for several reasons. They are constantly rotating and cleaning as you move over your teeth and they rotate at a far higher speed than you could achieve with your hand, providing a deeper clean.

Thus they can help to get rid of surface stains without applying too much pressure on the tooth’s surface.

Use a mouthwash

Drinks high in sugar, like fizzy drinks, are the number one culprits as they are tremendously high in sugar and very acidic, this combination accelerates the depreciation of your tooth enamel.

A product such as a daily fresh mouthwash can go where toothbrushes and floss can’t in order to rid your mouth of the same debris that irritates the gum line and causes gingivitis. Add a quality alcohol-free mouthwash to your oral care regime to get the most thorough clean you can, even when you’re on the go.

Pick the correct toothpaste

One common misconception when it comes to oral hygiene and tooth enamel is that teeth whitening formulas are healthy, however, whitening toothpaste that contains peroxide can be too harsh on your enamel due to the peroxide content which can damage your enamel and can cause increased and unwanted sensitivity.

Instead, choose a toothpaste which gently removes stains without the use of peroxide. The vital ingredient to protecting your enamel is fluoride, this helps to remineralise your enamel and protects your teeth’s sensitivity.

Floss properly

Like brushing, flossing must be done properly so that, when you reach between teeth, you actually get to the plaque not reached by your toothbrush.

Brushing only gets around 50% of the plaque buildup, so spending a few minutes each day flossing helps to get to those hard-to-reach areas.

Ideally, use a floss tape which can be more gentle on gums and make sure to floss morning and evening.