Most dental visits involve some x-rays, a cleaning, and maybe a sheepish admission that you’re not flossing as often as your dentist tells you to. But for a few unlucky people, dental visits include much more. They can involve tooth reconstruction or, in severe cases, dental implants to replace teeth too far gone to save or already lost entirely. Watch out for these common causes of dental injuries.
Common Causes of Dental Injuries
Some of these labor – and cost-intensive visits can be avoided, however. It’s not always possible to avoid a dental calamity, but knowing the most common causes of dental injuries makes it easier to weigh the pros and cons before diving into something that might land you in the dentist’s chair.
Tooth Decay
You’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating: tooth decay is not something to take lightly. Decay can lead to cracked teeth, cavities, and other dangers that are far more subtle. Tooth decay usually goes hand in hand with gum disease which is more common in people with other serious health issues like high blood pressure, pneumonia, Alzheimer’s disease, and osteoporosis, among others.
Tooth decay and gum disease are heavily linked to these conditions and may not directly cause them. But they do have a direct effect on the strength of your teeth. Once decay sets in, it can weaken your teeth. This leaves them susceptible to further breakage through other kinds of damage. When that happens, you may find yourself looking for an office that specializes in cosmetic dentistry in Livermore.
Direct Trauma
The majority of dental injuries are the result of trauma. A portion of those injuries are the result of direct trauma rather than general cranial or bodily trauma. Direct trauma is the sort of thing that knocks out a tooth without affecting the rest of a person’s face. These can include a fall or a fight, for example.
Other forms of direct trauma include damage done when teeth are used on something that isn’t food. Opening a bottle, tearing plastic packaging, or trying to break something non-edible with your teeth can result in cracks and chips as well as outright breakage.
General Trauma
Direct trauma affects the mouth and little else. But general trauma is damage dealt to the body as a whole with dental trauma being only part of the issue. This sort of damage can result from:
- A car accident
- Severe fall, or from participation in contact sports or sports involving projectiles.
Cases of general trauma usually focus on other issues before dental repair is considered. The patient usually visits a hospital or emergency room for broader treatment that may include oral surgery if there is damage to the jaw bone as well as the teeth. Dental issues are usually only treated once these more severe wounds have been tended to.
Applying First Aid
Your first actions after suffering a dental injury may affect how your dentist can address the wound. If a piece of tooth breaks off, for example, it should be placed in a small container of milk or sterile saline solution and brought to an.
Swelling can be treated through the application of a cold compress to the outside of your face rather than directly to the swollen area.
Lost adult teeth are among the most time-sensitive dental injuries. If an adult loses a tooth, it should never be thrown away. Instead it should be placed in milk or saline solution while you call an emergency dentist in Livermore and explain the situation. The sooner the dentist can treat the injury, the better. It is also important that you handle the tooth as little as possible and do not scrub it. If the tooth needs cleaning, the dental professionals will take care of it.
Set Your Next Appointment Up Today
Dental injuries may feel scary. But with the proper dental attention and a staff like ours, you may just be able to return to your daily life with a happy healthy smile sooner than you think.