Dental Articles - Waterdown

Dental Problems Over the Holidays: What to Do

Dental problems do not respect the calendar, and the holidays bring a particular mix of hard treats, late nights, travel and offices running reduced hours. This is a practical guide to what tends to go wrong, what you can safely manage until an appointment, and what should not wait.

Before the holidays: two things worth doing

Deal with the tooth that has been bothering you. A tooth that twinges with cold or aches now and then rarely improves on its own, and it has a habit of becoming urgent at the least convenient moment. Having it checked in November or early December is far easier than finding help on a holiday.

Use your benefits. Most workplace plans reset on 1 January, and December is the hardest month to get an appointment. See when dental insurance resets. Holiday opening hours vary from year to year, so call 289-408-5100 to check ours before you rely on them.

The usual holiday problems

A cracked or chipped tooth. Candy canes, peanut brittle, nut shells, popcorn kernels and ice are the classic culprits. If it is a small chip with no pain, it can usually wait for a normal appointment. Keep the area clean, avoid chewing on it, and cover a sharp edge with sugar free gum or dental wax from a pharmacy. If the tooth hurts when you bite or with hot and cold, book sooner, because a crack can spread.

A lost filling or crown. Keep the crown in a clean container. Pharmacies sell temporary dental cement that can hold a crown or cover the hole for a few days. Never use household glue. It is not an emergency unless it hurts badly, but it should be seen soon so the exposed tooth does not break or decay.

A toothache that flares up. Rinse with warm salt water, floss gently to remove anything trapped, and take the over the counter pain relief you would normally use, following the label. Do not put aspirin or anything else directly on the gum, which burns it. Pain that keeps you awake, or comes with swelling, needs to be seen.

Jaw pain and headaches. Stress, travel and disrupted sleep all increase clenching and grinding. Warm compresses, soft food and a break from gum usually help. If it is a regular problem, read about teeth grinding and jaw pain.

Winter sports injuries. Hockey, skating and tobogganing account for a lot of knocked and broken teeth. A properly fitted sport guard is the best prevention. A knocked out adult tooth is a true emergency, and the first hour matters most: handle it by the crown, rinse it briefly if dirty, put it back in the socket if you can, or keep it in milk, and get to a dentist or hospital immediately. Our article on what to do in the first hour covers each situation step by step.

Travelling over the holidays

• Pack a small kit: floss, pain relief you know you tolerate, temporary dental cement and a small container.
• Check whether your dental plan covers emergency treatment out of province or out of the country, and keep the insurer's number with you.
• Ask for an itemised receipt and any radiographs from a dentist you see away from home, so we can follow up properly when you are back.

When it cannot wait for the office to open

Go to a hospital emergency department if swelling is spreading toward your eye or down your neck, you have difficulty swallowing or breathing, bleeding will not stop with firm pressure, you have a high fever with facial swelling, or you have hurt your jaw or face. These can be serious and hospitals are equipped for them.

For advice at any hour, call Health811 by dialling 811. It is Ontario's free, confidential health advice line, staffed by registered nurses day and night, including holidays.

For everything else, call us at 289-408-5100. You do not need to be an existing patient to be seen for a dental emergency. More on how we handle urgent visits is on our emergency dental care page.

Panacea Dental is at 105 Clappison Ave #103 in Waterdown, open Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm and Saturday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. We are accepting new patients. Call 289-408-5100 or book online.

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