Remember to Take out Your Dentures Every Night

If you play contact sports or tend to live a lifestyle that puts your teeth at a higher risk of getting damaged, then you should try to be prepared for just about anything. If you damage a tooth, or even knock one out, you want to know you are able to deal with the situation. The information below will help you to put together an emergency kit you can keep in the trunk of your car and know how to use it properly.

What you need for an Emergency Tooth Care Kit

Gauze – You want to have gauze in your kit in case you cut your mouth or knock your tooth out. The gauze will stop the bleeding if you get cut in your mouth, and it will help to hold a knocked-out tooth in place until you get to the dentist.

An instant ice pack – If you injure your mouth you want to use the instant ice pack to reduce swelling and help control the pain. You will squeeze the ice pack and give it a shake to activate it.

Over-the-counter pain relief medication – As soon as you hurt yourself, you want to take some pain reliever for pain control.

Tweezers – If you knock out your tooth, you don't want to touch the root with your fingers. You can use the tweezers to carefully pick it up.

The numbers of some dentists – You want to keep the number of your dentist in the kit. You should also keep the numbers of emergency dentists in the area in the kit as well. This way, you can get in right away if you get hurt during after-hours.

A bottle of water – The water can be used to rinse your mouth out to clean a wound.

A small bottle of peroxide – If you cut your mouth, you can use the peroxide to clean the wound.

What to do if you knock your tooth out

If you knock your tooth out, you want to pick it up by the crown part and rinse it off with your own spit by swishing it carefully in your mouth. Then, you are going to want to put it back in its place in your gums (this is the best way for you to increase the chances the dentist will be able to save it). Put a folded up piece of gauze over the tooth and gently bite down to hold the tooth securely in place. Get to the dentist as quickly as possible.

What to do if you chip a tooth

If you chip your tooth, there is a chance that you may have loosened it a bit. Do not push against the tooth with your tongue. Take a pain reliever, and use the ice pack if necessary. Get in to see a dentist, such as James J. Susack, DMD, PC, right away so they can fix your tooth quickly to prevent decay and/or infection.