If you have suffered any type of injury to your teeth or gums, a dentist should be consulted immediately as emergencies like this can be painful and dangerous to your dental health. Most dental emergencies involve tooth fractures, teeth that have come loose, or which have been completely displaced from their socket. This type of injury is often accompanied by damage to the soft tissues of the teeth and gums in the area of the injury as well from impact, or abrasions with the nearby tooth damage.


If a tooth has been displaced, your immediate concern should be to find the missing tooth. If it has fallen out of your mouth, be sure to clean it and you will want to keep it in a safe place. While you may think it might be a good idea to place it in a container or a small plastic bag, the best place to keep the tooth is in your mouth until you can get to a dentist. Simply place the tooth between your cheek and gum, but do not try to put it back in the tooth socket. This will help to preserve the tooth and if you can get to your dentist quickly, it is likely that the tooth can be put back in place by the dentist.

If you have a tooth that has become loosened, but hasn’t fallen out of the socket, you may likely be able to reposition the tooth to its proper location with your fingers. Use gentle pressure though, as forcing it into place may cause damage to the displaced tooth or the surrounding teeth. Whether you are able to reposition the tooth or not, it is best to see your dentist as soon as possible.

If you have chipped a tooth, your dentist may take one of several approaches to treatment depending on the severity of the fracture. Very small fractures or chips may only need smoothing out, while more significant chips or fractures may require restoration with a composite material.

When a tooth sustains a significant fracture, important parts of the tooth such as the dentin or pulp may have been damaged. Your teeth have root canals that extend down into the roots of your teeth. Within these canals lies the nerves of your tooth and they travel into the pulp chamber of each tooth. This area contains blood vessels and connective tissue for your teeth so a fracture that extends this deeply into a tooth can be very painful. Because the pulp is deep within the body of a tooth, damage that affects the pulp is severe and your dentist may have to complete a more significant and invasive technique to facilitate the repair of your tooth.

If you have a dental emergency, be sure to contact Pearland Family Dentistry immediately. Our professionals can assess your injury, initiate a plan for restoration and stop any pain you may be experiencing. Call us at 832-548-5902 if you need a dentist in Pearland for emergency treatment and put an end to your pain and discomfort.