5 Simple Ways to Prevent a Dental Emergency

While dental emergencies can happen to anyone, the truth is that most of them are preventable. The best way to handle a dental emergency is to try to never have one in the first place.

Here are five practical, simple ways you can protect your smile and significantly reduce your risk of needing urgent dental care, and how emergency dentistry in Edmonton can help if needed.

1. Use a Custom Mouthguard for All At-Risk Activities

Mouthguards are vital for contact sports like hockey or football, but they're also needed for other high-risk activities, including non-contact sports or those involving intense physical exertion. Our Edmonton clinic treats patients with dental damage from skateboarding, cycling, and even from teeth clenching during activities like weightlifting.

Pharmacy "boil-and-bite" guards offer minimal protection. Custom-fit mouthguards from your dentist, molded precisely to your teeth, provide superior comfort, a secure fit, and significantly more shock absorption for teeth and jaw protection.

2. Don't Use Your Teeth as Tools

It’s a habit most of us have: using our teeth to rip open a plastic package, cut a piece of tape, or hold a few pins. It may seem harmless, but every time you do this, you're putting immense, unnatural pressure on your teeth. This can cause micro-fractures: tiny, often invisible cracks that weaken the tooth structure over time.

Always have scissors, bottle openers, and other appropriate tools on hand to help avoid using your teeth as tools.

3. Be Mindful of What You Eat and Drink

Your diet plays a huge role in your dental health, and while sugar is a major factor, it's not the only one. Chewing on hard items like ice cubes, hard candies, or unpopped popcorn kernels is a very effective way to crack or chip a tooth.

Acidic and sugary drinks erode dental enamel, increasing the risk of painful decay and sensitivity. Opt for tooth-friendly snacks like cheese, nuts, and crunchy vegetables, which stimulate saliva, the body's natural defense against cavities.

4. Commit to a Consistent Oral Hygiene Routine

A consistent oral hygiene routine is your first and most effective line of defense. Brushing twice a day and flossing daily isn't just about fresh breath; it's about removing the plaque and bacteria that cause decay and gum disease.

Untreated decay can infect the tooth's nerve, which can cause a painful abscess, while gum disease can cause loose teeth and infection. These issues are mostly preventable with a consistent at-home routine. Never ignore early signs like a persistent toothache, bleeding gums, or a loose filling.

5. Prioritize Your Regular Dental Check-Ups

Your at-home routine is vital, but professional care is irreplaceable. Regular check-ups and cleanings allow our team to detect and treat small issues early. Professional cleaning removes tartar your brush can't, and digital X-rays reveal hidden cavities.

Contact Dental Haus for Emergency Dentistry in Edmonton

At Dental Haus, we are equipped to handle urgent dental needs with the same compassion and advanced technology we apply to our preventive care. If you are experiencing a dental emergency or if you want to get on a proactive schedule to prevent one, call us at (780) 433-3368 or fill out our online contact form today.