Practicing the correct oral hygiene habits isn’t’ only a way to stay healthy in terms of your day-to-day oral health, it’s also a highly effective way to ensure that you diminish your chance of experiencing a dental emergency of some kind.
Dental emergencies tend to be stressful, expensive, and, in extreme cases, can be actually life threatening. This is why it’s of the utmost importance to attempt to reduce your chance of experiencing them as much as possible.
If you’re curious about the steps you can take to diminish your chances of experiencing a dental emergency, take a look at this outline of some of the common methods of emergency dental care.
What Are Dental Emergencies?
Dental emergencies are a class of dental issue that has the potential to cause severe medical harm if left untreated. These types of dental issues should be dealt with as soon as possible, or the patient might be left in a compromised medical state.
Oral Hygiene Habits for Preventing Dental Emergencies
There are several daily habits that one can engage in to help them prevent dental emergencies. Some of the habits outlined below have been shown to prove useful in emergency situations.
Engage in Preventative Care
Engaging in the everyday dental care that is commonly advised can give you a leg up in keeping your teeth healthy and prevent the decay and damage that can contribute to dental emergencies. This includes things like the following:
- Brushing
- Flossing
- Using mouthwash
By engaging in these regular practices, you can ensure that your teeth are in the strongest condition that they can be in. This should prove of some use both in cases of a real dental emergency and in one’s day-to-day life in the long run.
Get Regular Dental Checkups
Another way that you can prevent dental emergencies from taking place is to engage in regular dental checkups. During these types of dental checkups, your dentist will apply fluoride and other professional dental tools to give your teeth a protective layer that can help make your teeth more resilient to developing cavities and other dental issues.
Avoid Situations Where You Can Incur Dental Issues
There are certain activities that are more risky than others when it comes to maintaining the health of your teeth. This includes declining to engage in heavy-duty contact sports like football, as well as martial arts sports such as boxing. These types of activities have the potential to cause cracks and fissures in the teeth, which can quickly turn into dental emergencies.
Create a Dental Emergency Kit
Another step that you can take to ensure that you are prepared when there is a dental emergency is to create a dental emergency kit in case you start to experience the symptoms of a dental emergency. These types of kits can include a variety of different materials and medical tools that can prove useful in a dental emergency situation, such as gauze, pads, and pain relievers.
Eat Healthy Foods That are Good for Your Teeth
Another important step that you can take in order to maintain healthy teeth and oral hygiene is to reduce the amount of sugary snacks and beverages that you consume. Instead, you should opt to consume foods that are healthy and beneficial for your oral health, such as whole grains and vegetables. This can help reduce the chance of exacerbating tooth decay.
What to Do in Case of a Dental Emergency
If you experience a dental emergency, you should take yourself to an emergency dentist as quickly as possible. An emergency dentist is a type of dental specialist who has the expertise and the tools to treat a dental emergency sufficiently. There are many types of dental emergencies that are possible, with some of the following being among the most commonly experienced:
- Knocked out teeth
- Acute infection
- Gum disease
- Injury to the mouth
- Cracked teeth
- Chipped teeth
- Injury to the teeth our mouth
Even if you follow all of the tips listed above, accidents are possible, and there’s no way to completely ensure that you’ll never experience a dental emergency. That’s why it’s of the utmost importance to keep an emergency dentist on call in case you experience a dental emergency.
Your Friend in Dentistry
OC Dental Specialists has a well-regarded team of experts who are completely dedicated to giving the residents of Southern California high-quality dental work. If you’re looking for a way to improve your dental health and prevent dental emergencies, contact our office today to set up an emergency dentist visit in Irivine.