Simple Tips to Help Prevent Some Common Oral Emergencies

An oral injury or emergency can be a very serious cause for concern. While it’s impossible to completely prevent anything from ever happening, there are a few everyday habits and tips that will greatly reduce your chances of suffering a few common oral emergencies.

Bad habits like chewing on ice or nibbling on hard objects like pens and pencils or using your teeth as tools can easily cause chips, cracks and fractures in tooth enamel. It’s a good idea to curb these habits, before something serious happen.

You should always wear a mouthguard when participating in contact sports. If you have found retail level mouthguards uncomfortable in the past, you should talk to your dentist about a custom mouth guard. These units are designed for comfort and ease of breathing while also being very effective at protecting your teeth.

If you grind your teeth at night on a regular basis it can chip, or even fractures the biting surfaces of your teeth. It can even lead to TMJ disorder in the joints that hinge your jaw. You should talk to your dentist or orthodontist about custom night guard. This unit fits comfortably into your mouth, allowing you to sleep easy and prevent further issues.

It’s also a good idea to stock your first aid kit with a few common oral health care items like waxed floss, salt packets and topical oral analgesic. Keeping these things on hand will help keep you be prepared to deal with many common oral emergencies

If you have questions regarding things you can do to reduce the chances of suffering an oral injury or dental emergency, please feel free to call us at 312.551.0500 to set up an appointment.