Caring For Damaged Teeth And Fillings

There is lot of difference in the manner kids injure tooth and a tooth injured by an adult. In kids tooth injury takes place by participating in sports, falling down from a bike, while playing through an accidental injury. The way one responds to the dental injury makes the difference of loss of tooth or saving it. The tips can be useful to the parents and coaches present at the place of injury.

In case a tooth gets chipped, try to find out the chipped piece and take it along with during the visit to the dentist within 1 to 2 hours, it helps in matching the color of the tooth after repair. If the chipping has exposed the pulp of the tooth also known as dentin, there are chances of infection taking place.

The injury has also caused damage, which is immediately not detectable. The dentist is in a position to assess the damage within a short period of injury taking place. If the tooth is painful, changes color or there is hot and cold sensation, there is damage to the root canal, which needs to be rectified. The on the spot treatment is by patching the chipped tooth.

Caring for Knocked out Tooth:

Some times due to injury the tooth gets is knocked out of its place. If the way the tooth has moved out of place is not very bad, one can with gentle pressure, put it back to the original position, if it is possible. By doing so the damaged ligament tissue gets relief for the time being, but still root canal has to be carried out. There are great chances that the displaced tooth shall get fixed to the jaw bone in due course.

If the displacement of tooth is very bad the dentist shall make use of a splint to bring it back to its normal condition. The recovery of tooth depends how soon one visits the dentist.

If the tooth is knocked out totally, locate the tooth, if there is dirt rinse it gently without damaging the attached tissue and quickly put it back. The tissue attached with the tooth increases the chances of it getting attached. If it is not possible to put it back, visit the dentist, who shall be in a position to carry out the manipulations to restore it to the original place.

One can put the tooth in a cup in saline water, milk or even spitting shall do. This shall ensure that the tissue does not get dried up and is live to put it back properly by the dentist. Do not wrap it in handkerchief or towel. Recovery of knocked tooth of the child has more chances of getting healed and fixed as compared to an adult tooth. The dentist decides about what measures to take to save the tooth.

Immediate caring for damaged tooth and fillings becomes necessary, in situations of trauma injury or tooth chipping happened while chewing a hard food like seeds of guava or a bone piece etc. One needs to gargle with an antiseptic or saline solution as preliminary care before going to the dentist to ensure that other problems like dental infection do not set in. In case there is a trauma injury, after doing preliminary care one should visit the dentist.

Traumatic Injury to Tooth:

In case there was a traumatic incidence, due to which the tooth got broken, chipped or evidence of fracture of it, one must visit the dentist within one to two hours. The various types of traumatic injuries to tooth take place by a vehicular accident. In such cases one is required to visit an emergency of a Dental Hospital. In nearly all the trauma injury of tooth cases, the damage can be rectified and the tooth can be saved by combination of treatments like to rectify multiple damages which include capping or re-filling as required.

Suggested Precautions:

The first step is taking care to stop the bleeding, which can be achieved through by gently pressing the affected gum or depending on the location of the tooth gentle pressure can be applied either above or below the affected tooth. In case there is swelling, do gentle rinsing and application of cold compresses to the affected area.

If broken or tooth can be picked up. Collect it and take it along with to the dentist, who can fix the broken tooth, by cementing it from the place of breaking. It is cheaper to fix a broken tooth as compared to other repairs.

One is advised to take soft food if necessary before visit to the dentist. Carry on the chewing of the soft food avoiding the damaged side and chewing using the other side. Foods having very cold or hot temperature should not be used, because it shall be painful. Select the food having just tolerably warm temperature.

One should avoid taking aspirin an analgesic, which interferes with the coagulation activity of blood. Other analgesics also provide similar relief without affecting the coagulation of blood taking place normally after traumatic injury.

By following these safe steps, and visiting the dentist timely, one can save the fractured tooth by repair work by the dentist. It is necessary to visit the dentist at regular intervals as advised, the recovery of the fractured tooth shall take place fast and the damage occurred shall be minimal only.