Emergencies are bound to be stressful, but if you know who to contact when you have a dental emergency, you are more likely to be given accurate advice and be seen quickly, limiting the chances of negative consequences.
When you contact your dental clinic in W1 as soon as a dental emergency has occured, we will do our best to place you with a dentist within the hour if possible, depending on the severity and urgency of the situation. If you have lost a tooth, every minute is critical. You can also follow some general guidelines in order to preserve the tooth as best you can.
If you can reach your dental clinic in W1 within an hour of having a tooth knocked out, the chances are greatly improved that a dentist will be able to reinsert the tooth. This is if you have cared for the tooth correctly, and ensured that it hasn’t dried out too much.
What can I do for my tooth’s best chances?
Try not to handle the roots of the tooth, rather just the crown or what you visibly see. Water can make the cell walls expand too much and eventually rupture, meaning that the tooth will die. Rather, submerge the tooth in a saline solution or milk in order to clean it. Avoid vigorous rubbing, remembering that the tooth is alive and delicate.
If you are able to place your knocked out tooth back into the socket comfortably, then we suggest doing so. However, do not cause yourself excessive pain and whatever you do, don’t swallow it!
By taking these actions before coming into the dental clinic in W1, you enable us to do everything we can in order to replace your tooth. If we find that it is not possible, there are permanent solutions that will enable you to enjoy a fully functional smile once again, after the trauma has subsided in your mouth.
What will you do when we get to the practice?
It is important to assess your entire mouth to ensure that damage has not extended past what we can visibly see. X-rays will most likely be needed to determine the extent of any damage.
If you are in any pain, we will make sure that you are comfortable straight away. We also ensure that the site of your injury is sterilized and cleaned to reduce the chances of infection.
It is important to come in and visit us after an accident to ensure that lasting damage has not been sustained, and so that we can clean the site and offer you relevant aftercare advice.
Dental emergencies are not only limited to accidents and injury. If you have lost a crown, or a restorative treatment from the past has failed, or even if you find yourself in pain that is not going away, we also deem these to be serious enough to offer you an emergency appointment.
Please speak with us as soon as possible so that we can offer you the care and treatment that you need.