Many of us take our teeth for granted. We treat them rough, often overlook proper dental care and don’t really pay them all that much attention, until…
… crack!
Next thing you know, you’ve got a dental emergency on your hands.
Whether it’s biting into something too hard, a fall, or a nasty tackle on the pitch, if you’ve broken a tooth, don’t delay – call your emergency dentist in Armadale, now!
When it comes to broken or chipped teeth, time is of the essence – that’s why our dental team does their very best to fit emergency appointments in as soon as possible to fix the issue, reduce pain, and minimise long-term damage.
Dental Care Group conducts a 24/7 emergency service, and when you call our phone number after hours, (03) 9509 1500 you will be put through to one of our on-call Dentists.
Not only will you get free advice from an experienced clinician, but the dentist will be able to make an out-of-hours appointment, and you will be seen!
But is there anything you can do in the meantime to temporarily:
- Reduce your pain?
- Stop the problem from getting worse?
- Protect your remaining teeth?
Our Armadale dentists explain some at-home remedies you might like to try as you wait for your appointment.
Protect your teeth in the meantime – 4 simple home solutions
1) Take over-the-counter painkillers
A broken tooth often comes with significant pain – that’s why they call it a toothache, after all!
The problem is that you won’t always be able to put your life on hold while waiting for your appointment
Some of us may have to continue working, and parents still have to do the daily school pickup. It isn’t great, but it can’t be helped!
Is the tooth pain too much to bear? Struggling to do the things you have to do?
You can reduce your pain in the meantime using over-the-counter painkillers like Ibuprofen.
In addition to reducing pain, medication can also be effective at reducing the swelling that often accompanies a broken tooth.
While it won’t fix the issue, it can make things more bearable for the time being.
Just be sure that you follow the recommended dosages.
2) Salt water
It may not sound like it, but hot salt water can act as an impromptu antiseptic.
Essentially, salt kills certain bacteria by forcing moisture out of anything it comes into contact with – that’s what makes it such a good preservative.
When you rinse your mouth with salt water, you’re forcing moisture out of cells, and with it, a lot of potentially harmful bacteria.
While this won’t work against all types of bacteria, it can certainly help protect you from having to add an infection to the list of things your emergency dentist is looking at!
Best of all, it’s easy to make a saline mix – all you need are:
- Salt (a tablespoon)
- Cup of Hot Water (from the tap, remember not too hot)
Just take a cup of hot water and mix with 1 tablespoon of salt and gargle for one minute – simple as that!
3) Orthodontic wax
There are many different ways your teeth can break:
- Chips
- Fractures
- Cracks
- Splits
- Broken cusps
- Decay-related breaks
Unfortunately, this can often leave your teeth with jagged edges, causing discomfort as they cut into your gums and tongue – ouch!
Luckily, there are things you can do about this.
Dental wax (usually made of paraffin, beeswax, or a similar soft substance) can be a huge help in reducing pain from sharp edges. Better yet, it can be bought at most pharmacists and chemists.
Basically, you apply this wax over the sharp edges, creating a soft surface that’s less irritating and painful.
Don’t worry, they’re also easy to remove – your dentist won’t have a problem taking it off once your appointment starts!
4) Use a temporary filling
In some cases, a broken tooth can expose nerves and sensitive dentine inside your teeth.
Needless to say, this can cause a great amount of pain while you wait for your appointment with your emergency dentist in Armadale.
Not only that, but it opens you up to infection as well!
In these cases, the solution is often a dental filling that plugs these breaks, protecting the insides of your teeth.
Dentists aren’t the only ones that can create a filling, however – you can too.
Many chemists sell temporary filling kits that you can use to relieve your pain and protect yourself from infection. These kits use gel and soft putty to plug holes in your teeth until your dental appointment.
Just bear in mind these DIY fillings are strictly temporary!
5) Sugarless chewing gum
Can’t find any orthodontic wax? Good news: chewing gum makes for a good substitute (provided that it’s sugar-free, of course!)
Simply chew up a small piece of sugarless gum, take it out of the mouth and set it aside to dry somewhat (half an hour). Take a small part of it and gently place it over the broken area, push it gently into place and gently bite down. If you have taken care not to use too much of it, it should fit and be adjusted automatically.
As a general rule, keep going until you feel pain as you press it into place. As a rule of thumb, if there is pain, stop doing what you are doing.
For a guide on what to do when your child breaks a tooth, you can check out this article.
Need an emergency dentist for your broken tooth?
Call our dentists in Armadale
While each of these can help provide relief in the immediate aftermath of a dental emergency, the best way to repair a broken tooth is to book an urgent appointment with our emergency dentist in Armadale!
Our dentists will do their best to see you as soon as possible, booking you into the earliest available slot.
On business days, when you call us before midday, we guarantee we’ll see you before the close of business on that very same day.
Out of regular hours it is by appointment only, but our phone will direct you to our on-call Dentist for free advice or for an urgent out-of-hours appointment
For long-lasting relief for your broken teeth, call our Armadale dentist today on (03) 9509 1500 or book online, and we’ll see you as soon as we can!