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What do I do
if... |
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...I lose a filling?
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If you
are in pain, it could be a
sign of additional decay, or
a crack in the tooth. Treat
the pain with over the
counter pain medication and
see your dentist as soon as
possible. If you don’t have
pain, keep the area clean
and see your dentist as soon
as you can. If the broken
tooth has a sharp edge, just
place dental wax or a
pre-chewed sugarless gum on
it until you can see your
dentist. |
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...a crown
falls off? |
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For
either a temporary or a
permanent crown, never
attempt to re-attach it or
put it back in. Simply save
the crown and see your
dentist as soon as you can.
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...a bracket in your braces
breaks? |
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Simply
place dental wax or a
pre-chewed sugarless gum on
the sharp end and see your
orthodontist as soon as you
can. |
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...I knocked out a tooth?
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If
it is a baby tooth:
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Don’t
worry about it. Have the
area evaluated by the
dentist since trauma to a
baby tooth may affect the
permanent tooth bud.
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If it
is a permanent tooth:
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These
teeth CAN BE SAVED by quick
Action - they can be put
straight back into place in
the mouth (replanted) and
then they can return to
normal function and
appearance.
Handle the tooth only by the
crown (whiter part) and NOT
by the root (yellow part)
If necessary, rinse it
gently, preferably with
milk, otherwise use water,
without scrubbing it, and
gently put it back into the
tooth socket.
If you can’t put it back in,
keep it moist in a glass of
milk and rush to your
dentist as quickly as
possible. The tooth can be
saved if it can be put back
in within the first 90
minutes. |
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...I have
pain after extraction? |
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However excellent the
surgery, or however
carefully teeth have been
removed, some patients get a
"dry socket" which may start
about two days after the
extraction. In fact any
marked pain after the second
day is usually due to a dry
socket. Some people are more
liable to get dry sockets
than others; this may in
some way be related to their
general health. A dry socket
is always due to loss of the
blood clot which leaves the
jawbone surrounding the
extraction socket
unprotected. This may be
accompanied by a bad smell
and an unpleasant taste. To
remove the symptoms the
dentist washes out any food
debris in the socket and
then places into the socket
a paste specially formulated
to ease the pain and promote
healing. If you are
unfortunate enough ever to
have a dry socket, be
patient about getting
complete relief, because it
usually takes about 7 to 10
days before the bone is
sufficiently covered by
healing tissue to be
protected. Unfortunately, at
present there is no accurate
way of predicting who will
get a dry socket and there
are no reliable preventive
measures that can be taken
to avoid it. |
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