Your dental restorations such as fillings, dental crowns, and inlays/onlays help restore your teeth’s normal functions. They are made of durable materials so that they can effectively work like a natural tooth and last a long time.
However, despite their sturdy nature, dental restorations are still vulnerable to damage. They can suddenly break during eating or speaking. It can happen anytime, anywhere, to anyone with a restoration.
That’s why knowledge of the proper first aid steps can go a long way to helping you deal with emergency situations, prevent further damage, and lessen inconvenience.
Your local dentist at Castlemaine Smiles provides not only exceptional dental emergency service but also helpful first aid tips in Castlemaine.
Common Reasons For Lost/Damaged Dental Restorations
- Wear and Tear: Everyday your dental restorations are exposed to heavy chewing and grinding. Over time, the pressure can weaken them and cause them to break.
- Abuse of your teeth and dental restorations (Improper care): Using your teeth as a tool for other than eating can damage your dental restorations. Biting down into something hard is one example.
- Secondary cavities forming underneath: Before your dentist places your dental restorations, your teeth particularly the affected tooth, are cleaned thoroughly. You are then advised to follow certain steps to maintain good oral hygiene to help your restorations last a long time. However, neglect in following these steps can result in new cavities that damage your dental restorations.
- Errors during initial placement: Errors can happen during the initial placement of your restorations. Hence it is very important to choose a qualified dentist. Your expert local dentist at Castlemaine Smiles is tested and proven to perform reliable dental restorations with no errors.
First Aid Steps for Lost/Damaged Dental Restorations
If your dental restorations suddenly break, or if you notice them missing, it is important to follow the these procedures:
Dental Crowns
- Clean the dental crown and store in it a safe place.
- Use a cotton swab to apply a little clove oil on your tooth to reduce pain and sensitivity.
- Visit your dentist immediately.
- If you can’t visit your dentist immediately, over-the-counter dental cement or a petroleum jelly can be used to temporarily keep your crown in place. Do not use household glue as it can damage your dental crown.
Tooth Filings, Inlays/Onlays
- Rinse thoroughly to remove debris of dental restorations from your mouth.
- Dental cement is available in drugstores for a temporary fix but it is safer to let your dentist fix it.
- Do not try to put restorations back in place, as doing so comes with the risk that you will accidentally swallow or breathe them in.
- Apply a little clove oil with a cotton swab to the affected area to reduce pain and sensitivity.
Trying to restore dental restorations (filings, inlays/onlays) yourself puts you at risk of swallowing or breathing them in. Most of the time, swallowed dental restoration debris simply passes without a problem. However, if you accidentally breathe them in, they can cause an infection in your lungs.
Visiting your local dentist in Castlemaine Smiles is very important to ensure that you are absolutely safe from any further risks.
Castlemaine Smiles Dentist, Your Local Dentist In Castlemaine
Administering proper first aid is crucial to alleviate pain during dental emergencies. But to ensure absolute safety, visiting your dentist immediately is just as important.
Same Day Emergency Appointment is usually available at Castlemaine Smiles Dentist.
Call us on (03) 5472 1377 or request your appointment online today!
