Which of the following would you consider a dental emergency?
☐ A child runs into a fence while trying to catch a ball. In the process, he hits his mouth on a pole and knocks out one of his teeth.
☐ A teenager bites into hard candy. In the process, a piece gets caught in her braces. In the process of trying to get it loose, she breaks the wire, which is now poking her in the cheek.
☐ An adult wakes up from a nap with a throbbing pain in one of his teeth. This seemed like it came out of nowhere, but he can hardly tolerate the pain.
If you are like us, then you would consider all three of them to be dental emergencies.
If any of them happened to you or do someone you love, we hope you could call the nearest Beaumont Family Dentistry office in Lexington, KY.
Here are our contact numbers:
- Beaumont Centre Circle: 859-223-2120
- Hamburg: 859-687-0975
- Leestown: 859-368-8260
Add these numbers to your cell phone. Hopefully, you will never need them for emergency dental care, but this way you won’t have to hunt for them if you do.
If your emergency occurs during our regular hours, a member of our staff will talk you through what you should do.
If your emergency occurs outside of our regular hours, listen to our answering message for the emergency contact number. Write down that number and call it to reach our on-call dentist as quickly as possible.
Be Prepared
You probably have first aid supplies in your home already, and some of them will be useful in a dental emergency as well. In the event of any dental emergency, you may need to provide initial care for someone else before you are able to get them to one of our dentist offices.
Here as some things you should keep handy:
▸ Latex or vinyl gloves — With many dental emergencies, the individual may be bleeding. Wearing gloves offers a level protection for you.
▸ Gauze — This is a versatile item to have your kit as it can be use to soak up blood, clean dried blood, and cover sharp and pointy things to prevent additional problems.
▸ Dental wax — Like gauze, this can be used to cover sharp and pointy things to prevent additional problems.
▸ Dental floss — We hope you didn’t throw yours away because of a news story you read last month. Floss can be used to remove food particles or other objects that may have become stuck between your teeth.
▸ Pain relievers — Yes, dental emergencies can and do hurt. An over-the-counter medicine can provide some relief until you are able to get to the dentist office.
▸ Cold pack — A traumatic injury can cause swelling. A cold pack can help to numb the pain and reduce swelling.
You can find preassembled dental emergency kits, but like we said, you may just need to add a couple items to the first aid supplies you already keep in your home.
Using Your Emergency Dental Supplies
To understand how to use your emergency supplies, here is a brief overview of what to do in the situations described in the opening of this post.
☐ If a tooth has been knocked loose, put on gloves and pick up the tooth by the crown. Then rinse the tooth and have the person rinse his or her mouth. If he or she keeps bleeding, give them gauze to hold in their mouth to soak up the blood. When the bleeding stops, rinse his or her mouth again.
If possible, put the tooth back into its socket. If not, have the person hold the tooth in his cheek or keep it in a container of milk until you can see the dentist.
☐ If a wire breaks on a set of braces, find pencil with an eraser on the end. Use the eraser to push the wire flat against the nearest tooth. Cover the exposed tips of the broken wire with dental wax.
Have the person rinse his or her mouth, if needed.
☐ If you have toothache, start by using dental floss around the problem tooth. You may be able to pry something loose and alleviate the pain.
If this does not help, call the dentist and take a pain reliever if needed.
Call For Quick Assistance
Every minute counts in a dental emergency. The team at Beaumont Family Dentistry doesn’t want you to be in pain any longer than necessary. Call any of our offices in Lexington at the numbers listed above if you or someone you care about needs help anytime, day or night.