A broken tooth is one of the most detrimental things that can happen to your pearly whites. While we have been instructed to brush and floss daily, we have never been told how to handle a situation like this. Rather than freak out, Wibrowski Family Dentistry would like to give you the protocol for when a situation like this happens, that way there is less freaking out and more fixing. The first thing to do when your tooth breaks is to analyze the damage done. Is your tooth the only part of you injured? Or are there other things that need taken care of? If you come to the conclusion that your tooth is what needs tending to first, apply a cold pack to either the cheek or the lip surrounding the broken tooth. This will not only reduce swelling, but should relieve pain. A tooth avulsion, meaning your tooth is completely knocked out, is a dental emergency, and needs to be handled by a professional. When picking up your tooth, make sure to pick it up by the crown, never the root. Rinse your tooth gently with special tooth storage media, milk or saline. Avoid touching or moving the tooth. After that, it's all up to the dentist. The next step is to get to a cosmetic dentist as soon as possible! Treatment is most successful if it is preformed within 30 minutes of the incident. Knowing more about the process will keep you calm and ready to take action if your tooth ever does fall out, so take a deep breath and call your Edmonton cosmetic dentist!
