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Regarding health, one is not certain that what would happen the next moment, especially when we talk about the teeth and the oral cavity. A dental emergency is of different kinds and some most commonly occurring emergencies are missing teeth, broken tooth, loose teeth, pulpal inflammation, chipped teeth, and knocked out teeth. In case you become a victim of any kind of these emergencies, you should visit the Los Angeles emergency dentist immediately.

Types of dental emergencies

There are different kinds of emergencies and knowing these would help you in taking proper measures about the issues and visiting the dentist immediately.

Toothache:

There are countless reasons of a toothache and some main reasons are dental caries, dental trauma or broken tooth, etc.  Excessive grinding and clenching can also lead to a toothache because excessive use can damage the tooth and as a result, it causes a toothache. In the case of a toothache, you must visit the dentist the earliest because the emergency dentist would tell you the causes and the solutions which you are not aware of.

Sore and swollen gums:

Gum is swollen primarily due to caries or debris in between the teeth. You can dislodge the stuck food by flossing or brushing the teeth gently. Rinsing the mouth with warm salt water can also alleviate the gum swelling. If these don’t work you should visit the dentist as soon as possible.

Lost crown:

If the filling or the crown has fallen out visit the Los Angeles emergency dentist immediately. If the tooth is causing pain you can apply clove oil by soaking a cotton swab in it and touching it with the sensitive part to relieve the pain. You may slip the crown back over the tooth by yourself but for doing so, you will need the dental cement but don’t use the superglue. You can take ibuprofen or Tylenol to alleviate the pain.

Knocked out or broken tooth:

Broken tooth

Teeth are strong enough but sometimes they can break or chip due to some reasons like biting down on hard food, falling, any car or other accidents and due to cavities. Minor fractures don’t cause pain but if a large part of the tooth is fractured it can cause severe pain. This is because the tissues of the tooth can be damaged and any contact with exterior things could cause the pain.

• What to do if the tooth is broken?

If a tooth is broken or knocked-out you should contact the dentist as soon as possible because if you become able to see the emergency dentist within an hour of the accident there is a chance that the tooth can be slipped into the socket safely. Also, there could be other reasons of fracture or knock-out which would be better explained by the dentist. Meanwhile, there are other things to do if visiting the dentist can take long.

• Keep the broken pieces of tooth or the knocked out tooth with you
• Rinse the mouth properly with warm salt water
• To reduce the swelling you can keep an ice pack piece or the cold compress on the cheek or the lips
• Cover the broken piece of tooth with the dental cement or keep the piece of the tooth moist, possibly by putting in any fluid
• Take ibuprofen or Tylenol to alleviate the pain

When the tooth is knocked out

When the tooth is knocked out, the reason could be any assault, accident or any other cause. But you can reinsert it in the socket as long as the ligaments (fibrous tissue connecting bones or cartilages) are alive. The best option is to visit the dentist as soon as possible because any delay could be detrimental. The long you take the less would be the chance of getting the tooth fixed because the tissue will be damaged if it takes long. There is a chance that the tooth can be re-implanted given that the following measures are taken by you.

• Don’t touch the tooth by the root(the tissues would be damaged), pick it up by the crown
• Rinse the tooth lightly with water or milk and don’t wipe it with any fabric otherwise, the tissues could be damaged.
• Try to slip the tooth gently into the socket and make sure that it is rightly inserted.
• Try to keep the tooth moist by submerging it in water, milk or your saliva. If you are unable to put the teeth in water or the milk, then place the teeth in your mouth, but be cautious of swallowing it.
• Make an appointment with the dentist as soon as possible, because the dentist would be the one to direct and treat you accordingly.

 Try to reach the dentist as soon as possible because the earlier you do that there would be a chance of saving the tooth.

When the tooth is cracked or fractured

The tooth can be cracked or fractured by many means like an accident, assault or fall and depending on the kind of the accident there could be different levels of crack or fracture. If the fracture is minor, then it could be more difficult to show up in the X-Rays and you may require several appointments to diagnose the tooth.  The severity of the pain depends on the level of the fracture; the more is the fracture the more you will feel the pain.  If the fracture is minor you won’t feel the pain on ordinary days, but you will be in pain when you eat something hot or cold or it is cold weather in the freezing winter. You need to know that if the pain persists, you must visit the dentist as soon as possible. 

Types of fracture

Cuspal Fracture:

In this kind of fracture the cusp is weakened and depending on the level of severity the dentist may break or remove the cusp. If the cusp has been damaged severely there is a chance that the pulp would also be damaged.

Cracked tooth:

Cracked tooth varies in nature and depending on the kind of crack you may feel erratic pain when chewing or during extreme temperatures. Depending on the degree of fracture there could be need of root canal dentist to treat the tooth accordingly.

Split tooth

A split tooth is the one which has cracked and the two parts of the cracked tooth can be distinctly pointed. A split tooth is very difficult to treat and only an experienced root canal dentist may help you in this regard. In most of the cases, the split tooth is extracted because it helps in alleviating the severe pain.  Although it is unlikely that a split tooth can be saved intact, but we suggest you visit our office and make an appointment with our professional emergency dentists because they can put their efforts to give you a relief and save the split tooth.  Our dentists care the patients and serve the patients in a dental emergency, beyond the office hours. If you are in any kind of dental emergency, you are at the right website. We are just a call away, or you can make an appointment online right now. Our professional dentists with years of experience in dentistry are always available at your disposal.

Larchmont Dental Associates – 581 N. Larchmont Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90004 (323) 465-2127