Everyone wants to have fun during the holiday season, but many problems can get in the way of making that happen. Things like cuts and burns in the kitchen, slipping, tripping, or falling, overindulging on foods and alcohol, and exhaustion, stress, and respiratory illnesses can make the festivities a lot less fun.
And who doesn’t want to dig into the feasts families make this time of year? However, indulging in the many delicious foods, drinks, and snacks also increases the risk of dental problems that can lead to emergencies, so let’s review the issues and how to address them.
Residents of the East Village, Manhattan, New York, dealing with dental problems and emergency issues can find help with Dr. Adam Nusblatt and his experienced medical team at Nusblatt Dental.
Lots of medical problems can affect teeth, but to be considered an emergency, the issues need to be severe enough that immediate medical care is necessary. This covers several possible situations, like:
Numerous foods and drinks affect teeth throughout the year, but these are the types of things we tend to enjoy more over the fall and winter festivities:
Things like cranberry sauce, candied yams, many pies and cakes, as well as snacks and treats, are filled to the brim with sugars that erode the enamel on your teeth.
Many people indulge in more alcohol with friends and family than they do during the year, which can dry their mouth and make existing problems with teeth worse, speeding up tooth decay, gum disease, and oral infections.
The combination of sugars and the carbonation in sodas, ciders, and similar drinks produces acids that also damage enamel.
This includes items such as hard candies, ice, and sticky foods like caramel, which can cause natural teeth, fillings, and dentures to crack and loosen.
Managing these emergencies depends on the severity of the issue; we must determine which problems can wait for a regular dentist's appointment and which ones require immediate assistance. When teeth or restorations become damaged, broken, or fall out but don’t cause pain, make an appointment as soon as possible.
With painful breaks, intense pain, severe lacerations, or traumatic injuries, get help as soon as possible. Be sure to try to ease the symptoms by doing things like using cold compresses, rinsing with water, taking over-the-counter pain relievers when appropriate, and saving any broken or missing teeth.
We all want to have fun during the holiday months, but please be cautious and remember to take proper precautions in case of a dental emergency. Contact Dr. Nusblatt and the Nusblatt Dental team as soon as possible to help manage the damage from these emergencies.
