An injury to your mouth, teeth, tongue or gums can be a serious cause for concern. While you can’t prevent every oral emergency, there are a few simple items that should be included in your first aid kit, to help you manage oral emergencies when they happen.
If an object gets stuck between your teeth or in the gum line. It’s waxy coating makes it easier for the strand to slide between teeth to let you try to free a foreign object. You might want to also keep a floss threader in the kit to help work around foreign object from a different angle.
Having a tooth knocked out by a blow to the face or a fall can be a very serious problem. If the tooth is still alive your dentist might be able to implant it back into the socket. You can keep the tooth alive by holding it in your mouth between cheek and gums. However, there are also tooth preservation products on the market that do a good job of this as well. Most come in the form of a can containing a nourishing gel, you simply put the tooth in the can and seal it tight.
Lukewarm salt water rinse can help clear the mouth of blood and debris, while also soothing injured tissues. This can be as simple as keeping salt packets and a plastic cup in the kit to make a rinse, on the spot.
Soft tissue swelling is a common side effect of some oral emergencies. Keeping a few zip-top bags and a washcloth in your kit can help to improvise a cold compress. Topical oral analgesic can be rubbed onto your gums to partially numb the area for a short time.
If you have questions about what items to consider for your oral emergency first aid kit, please call us at 718-364-7791 to schedule an appointment.