How To Manage Pain In a Dental Emergency
Dental emergencies are dental situations that require immediate treatment. Dental emergencies can be a result of trauma or impact from a fall. Extreme dental emergencies like a broken jaw can be extremely painful. It would help to take measures like taking a pain reliever to manage the pain. Nevertheless, you should look for an emergency dentist near you if the pain persists.
Immediate Steps To Take When Experiencing A Dental Emergency
Some immediate actions you can take to ease the pain during a dental emergency include the following:
- Take a painkiller
- Keep your head elevated
- Gargle with warm salty water
- Apply extracts like lemon or peppermint to relieve the pain
- Apply pressure using an ice pack
- Clean the hurt area, like a bit of lip, with warm salty water
- For excess toothache, rinse your mouth with water to remove food particles
Tips For Managing Dental Pain and Anxiety at Home
Home remedies can be effective in managing dental pain and anxiety before visiting an emergency dentistry in Calgary. Our dentists at Oasis Dental recommend taking the following steps to manage dental anxiety yourself. While the methods might not heal you completely, they help make the pain manageable before you visit a dental clinic. Some home remedies for dental pain and anxiety include the following:
Clove Oil
Clove oil is a suitable home remedy for various ailments, including dental emergencies. They cure tooth pain and other dental emergencies. Eugenol is an active ingredient contained in cloves that makes the skin numb. Mix some drops of olive oil and clove oil. Next, dip some cotton wool into the mixture and apply it on the swollen gum or the toothache.
Salt Water Rinse
Salt is a natural antiseptic with many healing properties. Gargling with salt water can reduce inflammation and toothache. Additionally, it heals sores in the mouth and bleeding gums. Further, regularly rinsing your mouth with saltwater gives you healthy gums and kills all the bacteria in your mouth. For this method, stir a teaspoon of salt into a glass of water. Next, use it to rinse your mouth. Doing so will reduce the pain as you wait to be attended to by an emergency dentist near you.
Hydrogen Peroxide Rinse
Like salt, hydrogen peroxide is a natural antibiotic with numerous remedial properties. Mix hydrogen peroxide in water and guggle the solution continuously while spitting. Swish the solution in your mouth for one minute and spit out the answer. Refrain from swallowing the solution, as it may be harmful to your health. Hydrogen peroxide helps alleviate pain from swelling and bleeding gums.
Dental Anxiety During Emergency Dental Situations
Dental anxiety during emergency dental situations is a common occurrence. Emergency dental patients tend to have trauma and fear experiencing more pain during treatment. Although dental anxiety is more common in children, it can affect patients of all ages. Factors that may cause patient anxiety during emergency dental situations include the following:
- A previous traumatic dental experience
- Pain from an emergency dental situation like a broken tooth, toothache, or swollen gums
- General anxiety
How to Manage Dental Anxiety in Emergency Dental Situations
There are many ways to curb dental anxiety during a dental emergency. They include the following:
- Informing your dentist – Your emergency dentist at the dental clinic in Calgary might help calm you down by explaining the procedure or offering sedation dentistry.
- Distract yourself by listening to music.
- Signal your dentist to stop if the pain gets unbearable.
- Guided imagery by your dentist
How Can Dental Anxiety Affect Your Oral Health?
While dental anxiety is common, especially after a dental emergency, extreme dental emergencies can harm oral health. For instance, refraining from visiting the dentist during a dental emergency may result in severe problems like tooth loss, tooth decay, and extraction of teeth. Additionally, not seeing a dentist to check your mouth ulcers might result in a more serious problem like mouth cancer. Therefore, regular dental visits are paramount not only during dental emergencies but as often as you can.
Conclusion
Dental emergencies can be traumatic. Nevertheless, pain during a dental emergency should not deter you from seeing a dentist, as this can adversely affect your oral health. Fortunately, some home remedies can help alleviate the pain during dental emergencies, including using salty water and hydrogen peroxide and applying a cold compress to the affected areas. Fear during emergency dental situations is common. You can curb anxiety by communicating with your dentist, listening to music, and signaling your dentist to stop when you feel too much pain.