Preventive Tips to Avoid Dental Emergencies

The Washington Post, citing CDC data, reports that over 92 million work hours are lost annually due to emergency dental visits.

Dental emergencies can be painful, stressful, and costly. They can hinder learning and an employee's ability to deliver quality services.

With proper preventive dental care, you can significantly reduce your risk of experiencing urgent dental issues. Discover practical oral health tips to help you prevent dental emergencies.

Common Dental Emergencies

Dental emergencies happen when you least expect them. They may occur while playing sports, during a family dinner, or even when you're fast asleep.

Recognizing and responding to a dental emergency promptly can help save a tooth, prevent complications, and minimize long-term damage.

Knocked-Out Tooth

A knocked-out tooth is one fully removed from its socket due to trauma like a fall or sports injury. This dental emergency leads to:

• Pain and bleeding
• Bone loss in the jaw
• Shifting of surrounding teeth
• Increased risk of infection

If you lose a tooth, hold the tooth by the crown. Rinse it gently with water if it's dirty, and avoid scrubbing it.

Try placing it back in the socket and hold it in place with clean gauze or a soft cloth. If reinsertion isn't possible, store the tooth in saline or saliva to keep it moist. Then, get to a dentist within one hour to save the tooth.

Toothache

Tooth pain becomes a dental emergency when it's either persistent or sudden. Toothaches may result from: 

• Untreated tooth decay
• Gum infections
• Trauma
• Teeth grinding
• Problems with braces
• Loose filling

Rinse your mouth gently with warm, salty water to clean the area. You can also take over-the-counter pain relievers to reduce discomfort and inflammation. Applying a cold compress to the outside of your cheek can help reduce swelling.

Cracked or Broken Tooth

A fracture may result from biting down on hard objects, grinding teeth, or facial trauma. Tooth fractures cause sharp pain, especially when chewing or exposed to temperature changes.

Common forms of tooth fractures include:

• Fractured cusp
• Craze lines
• Split tooth
• Vertical root fracture
• Cracked crown

Riverside Dental Care provides personalized treatments for tooth fractures. For small fractures, fillings or dental bonding can restore the tooth's look and function. For more serious damage, we use crowns to strengthen and protect the entire tooth.

Lost Filling or Crown

A filling or crown may fall out due to trauma, decay, or normal wear over time. If a crown falls out, attempt to reattach it with dental cement, which is available at most pharmacies.

If a filling falls out, temporarily cover the gap with sugarless gum or dental wax. Keep the area clean, and avoid chewing on that side of your mouth.

Emergency dentistry offers temporary or full crown or filling restoration. It seals the exposed tooth to block harmful bacteria and prevent complications, such as root infections or abscesses.

Benefits of Preventive Dental Care

Emergency dental treatments can be expensive. Preventive dental care can help you avoid the financial burden of last-minute procedures. Less financial stress also means peace of mind.

This proactive approach significantly reduces the risk of pain, inflammation, and discomfort. Addressing minor issues early helps avoid sharp pain from untreated dental problems.

Oral health tips also lead to long-term teeth preservation. This reduces the risk of needing dentures or implants due to emergencies caused by decay or trauma.

Your overall oral health will improve through proper preventive oral care. You can prevent mouth infections that can spread and raise your risk of heart disease, diabetes complications, and respiratory issues.

Healthy teeth contribute to a confident smile and overall well-being. Your speech and the ability to eat comfortably can improve, and you can maintain your quality of life without the stress of unexpected, painful, or embarrassing oral issues.

Preventive oral care enables the early detection of issues such as gum disease, cavities, and oral infections. Catching problems early allows for simpler treatments and prevents the need for complex or emergency care.

Common Preventive Tips to Avoid Dental Emergencies

While preventive care tips may vary, most are straightforward and easy to incorporate into your daily routine. Follow these tips to maintain long-term oral health, boost your confidence, and enjoy peace of mind.

Brush Regularly

This dental hygiene practice helps remove food particles and plaque. By removing plaque, you prevent gum inflammation and infection.

Proper brushing helps distribute fluoride across the teeth. This helps rebuild enamel and make teeth more resistant to decay.

Regular brushing freshens breath by eliminating odor-causing bacteria and food debris. You avoid bad breath (halitosis), which leads to low self-esteem.

Teeth brushing practice also prevents stains from food, drinks, and tobacco. This maintains the natural color and brightness of your teeth.

Teeth Brushing Tips

Ensure you brush your teeth twice a day, once in the morning and once at night before bed. Don't skip nighttime brushing, as bacteria thrive overnight.

You also need to use the right brushing technique. Ensure you hold your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle toward your gumline.

Brush with short, gentle strokes across the sides and tops of your teeth. Use vertical strokes and focus on the back of your front teeth, where plaque often builds up.

Other tips include:

• Brushing adequately for at least two minutes
• Choosing a toothbrush with soft bristles
• Using toothpaste with a moderate amount of fluoride
• Avoiding brushing too hard
• Brushing or scraping your tongue, too
• Considering an electric toothbrush
• Changing your brush after 3 to 4 months

After brushing, spit out excess toothpaste. Don't immediately rinse with water so the fluoride stays on your teeth longer.

Flossing Regularly and Properly

Flossing is also among the key cavity prevention methods to incorporate into your teeth cleaning routines. It involves using dental floss, a thin, flexible piece of string.

It helps remove food particles, plaque, and bacteria from between the teeth and along the gumline, where cavities and gum disease often start. Flossing reaches areas a toothbrush typically can't reach.

Unlike brushing, you only need to floss once a day. This dental hygiene practice also removes tartar, which brushing alone can't remove.

Key dental flossing tips include:

• Holding a floss correctly
• Using the correct floss length
• Rubbing it up and down
• Repeating for each tooth
• Guiding the floss gently

Sticking to a Balanced Diet

Healthy foods contain nutrients that help keep your mouth clean, strengthen your enamel, and keep your gums free from disease. Nutrients that help remineralize and strengthen enamel include calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D.

Crunchy fruits and vegetables help increase saliva flow. Saliva neutralizes acids, washes away food particles, and prevents bacterial overgrowth.

Vitamins like C and antioxidants reduce inflammation, boost collagen production, and help tissues heal. This promotes the prevention of gum disease, including gingivitis and periodontal disease.

Some foods also help balance mouth pH levels. Alkaline foods neutralize acids in the mouth, thereby reducing the risk of tooth erosion and cavities.

Scheduling Regular Dental Checkups

Regular dental checkups can help identify and address potential issues before they become serious problems. Dentists examine your teeth, gums, and mouth to spot early signs of:

• Cavities
• Gum disease
• Infections
• Cracked teeth
• Signs of oral cancer
• Jawbone damage

Regular dental checkups also allow for professional cleanings to help remove tartar buildup. This significantly reduces your risk of inflammation or infection.

A dentist can also advise you on various dental hygiene tips during a checkup. Consider having your teeth checked and cleaned every six months.

Individuals who need to schedule dental checkups more often include:

• Diabetics
• Smokers
• Pregnant women
• Those with a history of frequent cavities or gum disease

Signs You Need to Visit a Dentist

Schedule a visit to a qualified dentist if you notice persistent bad breath or a bad taste in the mouth. Tooth pain and sensitivity are also signs you need to schedule a dental visit.

Other signs include the following:

• Persistent mouth sores
• Loose or shifting teeth
• Jaw pain or difficulty when chewing
• Dry mouth or burning sensation
• Redness in the gums
• Pus or swelling near the gums
• Broken, chipped, or cracked teeth

If you're looking for a professional and trustworthy dentist in New York City, NY, consider Riverside Dental Care. We specialize in various treatments, including:

• Preventive care
• Dental hygiene
• General dentistry
• Emergency dentistry
• Invisalign
• Dental crowns
• Veneers

We offer comprehensive visual and X-ray examinations, as well as dental cleanings. Our expert team will support you in keeping your smile bright.

Before choosing a dentist, read their online reviews and get referrals from friends and family. These can give you insights into the treatments a dentist offers.

Other preventive dental care tips include the following:

• Limiting sugary or acidic foods
• Quitting smoking
• Avoid using teeth as tools
• Managing stress
• Wearing a mouth guard
• Staying hydrated
• Carefully chewing hard food

Preventive Dental Care: The Secret to a Lifetime of Healthy Smiles

Dental emergencies often stem from small issues that go unnoticed or untreated. Most dental emergencies can be avoided with simple preventive dental care steps. Daily brushing, flossing, and routine dental visits help keep your smile healthy and pain-free.

At Riverside Dental Care, your smile is our priority. Under Dr. Angelica Silivria's leadership, we provide such exceptional care that our patients and their families rarely require major dental treatments. We're located at 205 West End Avenue, Suite 1F, in Lincoln Towers on Manhattan's Upper West Side, near West 70th Street.

Check out our homepage to learn more about us.