Holiday Dental Emergency? Here’s What to Do Next!

The holidays are here! With lots of food, fun, friends, and family, what’s not to love? Parties and festivities seem to be around every corner, but a dental emergency can put a real damper on your holiday spirit if you don’t know your next steps. Thankfully, your dentist knows what to do if an emergency occurs over the holidays to keep your smile safe and healthy. Read to learn more!

When At-Home Treatments Are Beneficial

While most dental emergencies will require an eventual visit to your dentist’s office, there are some steps you can take to make yourself more comfortable on your own. Remember these key tips during the holiday season:

Toothache

For a toothache, rinse your mouth out with warm water and floss around the area to ensure there isn’t any lingering food debris causing discomfort. If you’re still in pain, take some ibuprofen or aspirin. After, you can call your dentist to set up an appointment at the nearest time.

Bitten Lip or Tongue

Additionally, problems like biting your lip or tongue are very common over the holidays because of the uptick in food consumption. If this occurs, simply rinse your mouth or lip with warm water and then apply a cold compress or icepack to ease inflammation, numb pain, and speed up the healing process.

Lost Crown or Filling

If a filling or crown comes out during your holiday, you can use dental cement to cover the affected area, which prevents sensitivity and discomfort. For a quick fix, you can even apply sugarless gum until you’re able to get dental cement from your local drugstore.

When to Call for Help

If you have a facial injury involving your jaw, a serious cut, or any problem that affects your breathing, get to the nearest ER right away. These issues are life threatening and should be dealt with immediately. Additionally, a knocked-out tooth should be treated as soon as possible.

If you experience facial trauma or physical injury that results in a missing tooth, pick it up by the crown to avoid damaging the roots. Then, rinse it off carefully and put it back in its socket. You can hold the tooth in place with your tongue to give yourself the best chance of preserving the tooth. After, call your dentist or get to the emergency room to try to save it. In the meantime, a cold compress can help with swelling and gauze can stop bleeding.

Are you ready to have a safe and happy holiday season? Give yourself the gift of a healthy smile by keeping this useful information in mind.

About the Practice

Dr. Gregory A. Craybas and Dr. Donald A. Crumb know that dental emergencies don’t stop just because it’s the holiday season, which is why they want you to know your next steps if one occurs. They are experienced in getting patients out of pain quickly and comfortably. For any questions, they can be reached through their website or by phone at (315) 475-6641.