Breaking a tooth can be a traumatic experience, especially if it happens out of nowhere and you lose a healthy tooth in the process. You shouldn’t be too sad though, as modern dentistry is capable of replacing your broken tooth or restoring it so well that nobody will know the difference.
In the immediate aftermath of the accident, try and keep calm. Follow these steps:
First, wash your mouth
After your tooth breaks apart, it might cut your gums or tongue, or other soft tissue in your mouth. the first step is taking out the broken or shattered part, using a solution of saltwater or lukewarm water and rinsing your mouth. this will help soothe your gums and get rid of any debris from broken teeth inside your mouth.
The root of the tooth is now probably exposed, so you have to keep the area clean and keep bacteria out of it. Remember to keep your broken tooth, so your dentist can figure out what happened to it.
Apply a cold compress on your teeth
The shock will definitely cause swelling and pain in your jaw or gums, so applying a cold compress is the next step for emergency treatment of a broken tooth. It will help you calm down, and avoid further swelling in the area. You don’t have to use special cold compress bags. Even frozen bags of food in the freezer can serve as a cold compress in desperate times.
You can try a hot compress as well, just warm up a towel on your shower rail or radiator, and apply it on the side of your face with the broken tooth. Keep the pressure on until the inflammation disappears, or you have to warm up the towel again.
Visit an emergency dentist or clinic
Once everything is under control and there is no bleeding, it’s time to call for dental care Wimbledon. Call in advance and make sure you provide the necessary detail about your dental health crisis. Remember to take the broken tooth with you, it can come in handy in the treatment process.
Confidental dental care is the best way to handle a broken tooth, and treating it at home is nearly impossible. Even if you have the necessary equipment, the skills required to provide adequate treatment isn’t something you can find online. Ignoring a broken tooth can lead to infection later on, and you might have to remove the teeth from the root to get rid of it. Furthermore, it will endanger the neighboring teeth by exposing them to infection.
Talk to an emergency dentist today
If your teeth were just shattered because you tried to bite down on a small rock in your food, or it was shattered in a driving accident, SW19 confidential staff are always on call to provide emergency treatment in Wimbledon, with exceptional experts and fast response time.
What you shouldn’t do when your tooth breaks or shatters:
- Do not touch the root of the tooth, it is exposed and can soak up bacteria, which will cause a very painful root infection and force you to receive root canal treatment
- Do not scratch the rough edges of the teeth or any other segment, and do not try to break off the tooth completely if it still hanging by a thread
- Do not hydrogen peroxide or alcohol to disinfect the broken teeth or gums, and only use saltwater
What About Other Kinds of Broken Teeth?
Chips and cracks in the surface of the teeth are not considered full-blown emergencies, but they must be dealt with as soon as possible. these cracks can get bigger as time progresses, and be blown wide open in case of impact. They make your teeth more vulnerable to root canal infection and gum diseases as well. Treatment of chipped or cracked teeth is considerably easier than fixing a broken tooth.
Composite bonding is perhaps the cheapest and quickest way to cover a crack or restore a chipped tooth, and it will last longer than most would expect. It’s expected to last more than five years, but with proper care, composite fillings have lasted more than years.