Having a dental emergency? Most dental emergencies are nowhere near the severity of other medical emergencies.

In most cases, it’s the potential of extreme pain that is the issue, not health. You should still call your dentist right away.

In this article, we’ll address the issue of what to do if your retainer or night guard got damaged. While this is inconvenient, you’ll still want to take care of this as soon as you can. In the meantime, here are some tips from Dr. Yap:

Why Did the Retainer Break?

• If the retainer is relatively new, then look for wear marks as it could indicate that you grind your teeth at night.
• You will need to see a dentist to get a new retainer to prevent your teeth from shifting.

What to Do

• Use your secondary retainer, if you don’t have one, use your last Invisalign tray.
• If you have no other retainers or aligners handy, then you can keep wearing the broken or damaged retainer until you see a dentist.
• Call to see if a dentist is available to help you at least assess your situation over the phone or video. When you have a new one made, consider purchasing a spare set.

While this is not considered an emergency and you have no pain, it’s worthwhile mentioning what you should know about dental emergencies. With most dental emergencies, severe pain may be a factor. If you can’t manage the pain without painkillers you might consider Panadol and/or ibuprofen – but only if you have no previous allergies or medications that can interact with these painkillers. You can check with your doctor and pharmacy but these two painkillers are the most commonly used to curb dental pain. Codeine or tramadol can be added in extreme cases but you will need a prescription for this.

We are living in a unique time where we are all isolated from one another. The last thing we want our patients to do is live with pain or infection during this time. This is why we are one of the few dental clinics that has remained open to service dental emergencies. We know what to do and how to handle a dental emergency. If you have a dental emergency, and you’re near Innaloo , please do not hesitate to contact us, we are here to give you guidance and support.