What To Do When A Filling Falls Out: Is It An Emergency?
Were you chewing on a piece of candy when you suddenly felt a sharp pain coming from your tooth? At that moment, you may have quickly realized that your filling came out. Although fillings are made to last and protect the teeth from additional decay, chewing substances can often cause them to come out, leaving your tooth and gums exposed to harmful bacteria while causing you some serious pain. Now that your filling fell out, you need to know what to do to relieve the pain and protect the tooth.
Rinse Your Mouth
Combine a cup of warm water with a teaspoon of salt; use a spoon to mix the salt in with the water, and then rinse your mouth out for at least 60 seconds with the salt water. You should do this as soon as you notice your filling has fallen out because the salt water is good for killing germs and fighting off bacteria. You want to prevent bacteria from getting into the hole in your tooth where the filling was before it fell out.
Use a Topical Pain Relieving Ointment
If you are experiencing pain, try to use a topical pain-relieving ointment that is specifically made to treat toothaches. Applying just a dab to the tooth will numb the area while preventing you from feeling that sharp shooting pain that you may have initially felt when the filling first came out.
See the Dentist as Quickly as You Can
Contact the dentist and explain the situation. Most dentists consider this situation a dental emergency. Your dentist might have enough time to squeeze you in for a same-day appointment. You should work on getting to the dental office as quickly as you can because you do not want to continue feeling pain and you do not want bacteria to get into the tooth where it can cause an infection. The dentist may be able to simply fill the tooth again with a protective filling. If the cavity is too large at this point, you may need to have a root canal done to save the tooth.
A filling can come out when you are chewing on something sticky that gets stuck and pulls the filling right out. If this just happened to you, rinse your mouth out to get rid of bacteria, use a topical pain-relieving ointment to get some relief, and try to get to the dental office rather quickly. The dentist will let you know if you can get another filling to replace the old one or if you will need a root canal at this point. Contact dental clinics like Milner Dentistry for more information.
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