Summertime Dental Emergencies

July 15, 2008

You know its summertime when little league, soccer, swimming, playing at the park, and bike riding are in full swing.    Mothers don't know whether to be happy or a nervous wreck worrying about their kids getting injured!   

While we can't cover all the possible scenarios, Emergency Dental Care USA can give you some advice on how to avoid and handle mouth injuries.  

- To minimize the chance of injuring their teeth, young athletes who participate in both contact and non-contact sports should wear custom-fitted mouth guards.

- Athletes should visit their dentist on a regular basis to check for unusual tooth wear.

- If the worst happens and a tooth is knocked loose or comes out, seek emergency dental treatment immediately.

- In the case of a tooth being knocked out, be careful not to touch the root. If the tooth is contaminated, rinse it gently with clean saline or water. Get to a dentist within 30 minutes.     

"The reason you want a dentist to replant the tooth right away," explains Emergency Dental Care's founder, Michael Obeng, D.D.S., "is that once the tooth is out of the socket, the body is more likely to treat it as a foreign object. There's a much better chance of saving the tooth if it's out less than 30 minutes."

Dr. Obeng says teeth that are out of the mouth for more than an hour have little chance of being successfully replanted. "It's situations like these, when you need a dentist right away.    If you're near any of our offices in Portland, Phoenix, Denver, Colorado Springs, Minneapolis, Chicago or Des Moines, Emergency Dental Care is open every day 9:00 am-9:00 pm, including holidays.

For more information, go to our Dental Tips/FAQ page.