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Getting a handle on family dental emergencies
By KIM GLOVER, R.D.H.
Dental emergencies can happen
at any me. And they always seem
to occur at an inconvenient me
such as a three-day weekend or a
holiday. When your child is having a
dental problem, wouldn’t it be nice
to know what needs immediate
a en on and what can wait a day
or two un l regular dental business
hours? Dr. Norm Saager at Broad-
way Family Dental off ered these
sugges ons for some common
dental issues:
A fi lling comes out. Leave the
fi lling out. If the tooth is not sensi-
ve and your child can chew on
the other side of his mouth, it will
should be just fi ne un l the next
business day. Because the hole will
catch food, it may feel be er with
some temporary fi lling material
packed into it. You can fi nd this at a
drugstore.
Pain while chewing. If your child
can s ll chew food on the other
side of his mouth, it is usually safe
to wait over the weekend. If he can-
not eat, or if he is very uncomfort-
able, call a den st.
Throbbing tooth while lying
down, or swollen gums or a swol-
len cheek. These are signs of an in-
fec on and an a er-hours call to a
den st is a good idea. Your den st
may prescribe an an bio c to get
through a weekend, and it is likely
the tooth will need some treatment
the next week.
Chipped tooth/rough spot. A
small chip probably won’t be a
problem over a weekend. If a sharp
spot keeps bothering your child’s
tongue, it is usually okay to smooth
it yourself with an emery board —
just smooth off a teensy bit; don’t
do any major remodeling!
Broken tooth. If it does not
hurt, it may be okay to wait over
a weekend. But broken teeth can
be worrisome, so if you are really
concerned, go ahead and call your
den st.
A broken front tooth is diff erent.
Call your den st for advice — you
and your den st will probably
want to take care of a broken
front tooth over the week-
end. If your den st gives
you his or her cell phone
number, maybe you can
text a photo of the bro-
ken tooth to help decide
the severity of the break.
Knocked-out per-
manent tooth. Call
your den st now!
You have about
an hour to get
treatment if you
want to save
the tooth. Don’t
touch the root of
the tooth. Put the
tooth in a glass
of milk and go to
your den st.
If you child is
having a dental
problem, but
you are unsure
whether or not
to contact your
den st, Dr.
Saager says
it’s never a
bad idea to
call and get
your den st’s
opinion.
Family
Health
________
Kim Glover is a Registered Dental
Hygienist at Broadway Family Den-
tal Care (www.bwaydental.com) in
Milton-Freewater.