What to do when you have a Dental Emergency

1. Toothache.  This is situation where you have a cavity
getting close to the nerve.  It was a missed cavity or you did
not go to a dentist in a while.  What you can do is to take
2-3 Advils at a time, 3 times a day. Call a dental
office, even if it is not your dentist’s office to call a
prescription for a stronger painkiller, like Motrin 800 mg or
Vicodin and possible antibiotics like Amoxicilin 500 or
Clindamycin 300 mg. Any dentist should be able to put you
out of pain by doing a quick procedure called Pulpotomy and
after that you can go back to your regular dentist. Most
likely that tooth is going to need Root Canal Therapy and a
Dental Crown.

2. Root Canal Therapy. You had a root canal done, the
anesthesia is wearing off and the tooth starts to hurt.  This
is usually temporary, lasting for 3-4 hours. During that
time just take 3 Advils in case your dentist did not
prescribe you anything. You have discomfort because the site
is irritated by the procedure.

3 .Tooth Extraction.  You had this procedure done, the
anesthesia is wearing off and you start feeling pain and the
bleeding does not stop.  For pain, take the painkillers the
dentist prescribed. For bleeding made sure you do not suck
on the extraction site, do not put your tongue in there,
do not eat on that side for 3 days, do not drink anything
burning hot or icy cold. DO NOT SMOKE FOR 3 DAYS.  If you
smoke, you are at high risk of getting Dry Socket, which is
a terrible thing.  If you are not doing any of the above and
the bleeding does not stop, place a tea bag on the
extraction site for 30 min. The strong tannins in tea help in
blood clotting.  If you start having pain after few days from
the extraction and there’s no bleeding, most likely you are
having Dry Socket. You need to see a dentist or oral surgeon
ASAP. If you can not see them in a couple of days and you
are having excrutiating pain and fever go to the Emergency
Room. Most likely they are not going
to do anything except prescribe you antibiotics and
antiinflamatories and refer you back to your dentist or oral
surgeon.

4. Sports and Work Accident.  If got involved into an accident and you hit the front teeth, get to a dentist in less than 60 minutes, preferably less then 30. Any dentist is going to accomodate you to be seen right away. There shouldn’t be any waiting time at all in these circumstances.  If any tooth came completely out from its socket, put it back in your mouth and keep it under your tongue. Do not attempt to clean it. You are going to make matters worse.  If you have milk around, put it in milk and rush to a dentist. The Emergency Room is not going to help you preserve or reimplant the tooth. They are just going to give you prescriptions for antibiotics and painkillers.  Any dental professional is going to help you. The most critical factor is TIME. If you get to a dentist in less than 60 min, you have a shot to save many thousands of dollars in future treatments and a lot of agravating hours in dental chairs.

In case of an emergency, please call the dentist office of Dr. Septimiu Pastiu, Sewell Dental Arts located in Washington Township NJ 08081 at 856-582-2220. He is available 24/7.