Your Dental Clinic Wants You to Take Precautions Against Common Preventable Emergencies
Emergencies are never an easy thing to deal with. They are stressful, and sometimes the result of harm or injury. When an urgent situation pops up regarding your oral health, you go to an emergency dentist—a professional whom you can trust to help you manage this crisis. Whether it’s repairing a sudden broken tooth or treating painful inflammation, they’ve got you covered. But wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to rush to the dental clinic in a panic? While it’s true that some emergencies—particularly those caused by sudden, unexpected trauma to the mouth—cannot be foreseen or prevented, there are steps you can take towards minimizing your risk of a sudden dental emergency.
Regular Appointments
If you’re not in the habit of visiting a dental clinic at least once a year (preferably twice) then this is a great place to start. Sometimes, an issue such as an abscess or infection which can cause an emergency down the road will be detectable and treatable earlier on, and seeing your dentist on a regular basis is a great way to catch these issues early. Seeing your regular dentist now can help you avoid a trip to an emergency dentist later!
Wear a Mouth Guard for Sports
Are you an active member of a local soccer, hockey, rugby, or other team? Or maybe you take martial arts lessons, or do something else potentially dangerous? The best thing you can do in this case is to have a mouth guard made for you. Having one custom-made will ensure that it fits properly, allowing it to do its job to help protect your teeth while you get physical.
Don’t Use Your Teeth as Tools
Just don’t do it! You may be tempted to open the milk bag with your canines, or use your incisors to pull open the tab on a can of soda pop. But you need to resist that urge, because that’s one of the easiest ways to end up in a dental clinic with a chipped or broken tooth. Our teeth were designed to break up tender, soft food—not to manipulate plastic, metal, or anything else. And while we’re on the subject, hard candy should be sucked on, and popcorn kernels should be spat out. Stop trying to chew them!
Take Bruxism Seriously
Bruxism, or grinding and clenching teeth, is a serious condition, and it can wear down or even damage your teeth. This is commonly a compulsive habit, and often done in people’s sleep. If you become aware of this issue, see your dentist right away. You may need to begin wearing a mouth guard when you go to bed, but it’s preferable to making a panicked call to an emergency dentist in the middle of the night!
A member of the Ordre des dentistes du Québec and owner of the dental clinic Clinique de l’Avenir, Dr. Gallant obtained her doctorate in dentistry at the Université de Montréal in 2010. Since the beginning of her multidisciplinary practice, she has expressed an interest marked for surgery and cosmetic dentistry. Always in the interest of perfecting her art, she took part in several continuing education courses in order to provide the most sophisticated dental care to her patients. Her personalized, gentle approach inspire confidence in those who typically fear dental work. For her, a radiant smile of health is a pledge of confidence and success.