Handling a Dental Emergency

Dr. Farid Hakimzadeh of Fresh Meadows Dental Care understands that accidents happen. Whether you experience a dental injury from a clumsy fall or from participating in a sport, knowing what to do will mean all the difference in saving or losing a tooth. If you experience a dental trauma of any kind, please contact our office immediately, In the meantime, here are some tips for handling common dental emergencies.

• For a knocked-out permanent or adult tooth, keep it moist at all times. If you can, try placing the tooth back in the socket without touching the root. If that’s not possible, place it between your cheek and gums, or use a tooth preservation product that has the American Dental Association (ADA) seal of acceptance.


• For a cracked tooth, immediately rinse the mouth with warm water to clean the area.


• If you bite your tongue or lip, clean the area gently with water and apply a cold compress.


• For toothaches, rinse the mouth with warm water to clean it out. Gently use dental floss to remove any food caught between teeth.

If you have questions or concerns regarding a dental emergency, please give us a call. To learn more about the services we provide at our practice, visit www.freshmeadowsdental.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Farid Hakimzadeh of Fresh Meadows Dental Care in Oakland Gardens, NY, call 718-224-7272. 

Swollen Gums

When gums become tender and inflamed, they can cause a massive amount of discomfort to the patient. At Fresh Meadows Dental Care, Dr. Farid Hakimzadeh can teach you the proper tools and techniques to treat your gums with care and give them the attention that they need and deserve. Depending on the severity of your gum inflammation, you may be suffering from a form of periodontal disease.

Healthy gums are firm and a pale pink, if yours are any other color, you may be suffering from periodontal disease. To avoid periodontal disease, it’s best to visit Dr. Hakimzadeh twice a year for professional cleanings, to maintain optimal oral health. After all, your gums need just as much attention, if not more, than your tooth enamel. If periodontal disease isn’t the cause of your tender gums, review your oral care habits and make sure that you aren’t brushing too hard. Aggressive brushing can make gums extra sensitive.

If you have questions or concerns regarding periodontal disease, please give us a call. To learn about the services we provide, visit www.freshmeadowsdental.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Farid Hakimzadeh of Fresh Meadows Dental Care in Oakland Gardens, NY, call 718-224-7272.

Tooth Sectioning

When people need to have teeth removed, they can count on Dr. Farid Hakimzadeh of Fresh Meadows Dental Care to do it safely and efficiently. Although nothing beats a natural tooth, simple extractions are routine procedures and often the best option for overall health. But there are some situations, such as when a large tooth is impacted, in which a simple extraction is not possible and the tooth must be sectioned.

Wisdom teeth have to be removed if they are trapped under the gum line or other teeth. When this happens, a flap is often cut into the gum through which the tooth may be moved. However, wisdom teeth are often firmly anchored into the jaw by thick ligaments and pulling on them or attempting to push them with a lever may tear surrounding soft tissues. Sometimes the wisdom teeth are also impacted in places perilously close to major nerves, making a lighter touch necessary.

The solution is to use a dental drill to cut the tooth into sections. This is only done after the patient has been numbed and sedated. The surgical site is kept under cool water so the drill’s heat does not hurt the patient’s gums. Once the tooth is in sections, individual pieces do not require as much force to move and there is less risk of them breaking accidentally.

Farid Hakimzadeh, DDS, operates Fresh Meadows Dental Care at 58-47 Francis Lewis Blvd., Suite 100, Flushing, New York, 11364. To schedule an appointment, call 718-224-7272 or visit Fresh Meadows Dental and fill out a contact form.

 

Orthodontics and Root Canals

We’re proficient in providing several kinds of prosthetic teeth at Fresh Meadows Dental Care in Flushing, but nothing compares with a natural tooth. To help communicate why it might be better to save an injured tooth than to replace it, we’re devoting this week’s blog to differences between implants and root canals.

There’s no doubt that implants are beneficial. Not only do they anchor a prosthetic tooth, they also stimulate the growth of new material in the jaw bone, which stabilizes other teeth and the shape of the patient’s face. But because they are integrated into the jawbone, they cannot be moved with orthodontic therapy. If an implant is mobile at all, it has failed to integrate and needs to be removed for the patient’s safety before chronic inflammation sets in. In contrast, a tooth that has undergone a root canal may still be moved through orthodontic therapy, such as with the Invisalign series of aligners we offer at our office. This can be preferable if a tooth was knocked out of place but was not cracked at the root (as this would require extraction). A root canal would still be done to remove the risk of infection and a new crown may be necessary, but if the patient needed fixed braces, orthodontic brackets may be safely cemented to artificial crowns.

Farid Hakimzadeh, DDS, operates Fresh Meadows Dental Care at 58-47 Francis Lewis Blvd., Suite 100, Flushing, New York, 11364. To schedule an appointment, call 718-224-7272 or visit Fresh Meadows Dental and fill out a contact form.

 

Nitrous Oxide

If you suffer from dental anxiety or wish to take the edge off during a dental procedure, nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is a safe and effective sedative agent that can alleviate the stress of a dental visit. Once Dr. Farid Hakimzadeh of Fresh Meadows Dental Care gives you the green light for nitrous oxide sedation, this sedative agent is mixed with oxygen and inhaled through a small mask that fits over your nose.

Receiving nitrous oxide as a form of sedation is the only type that allows you to drive yourself home after the procedure. It is not intended to put you to sleep, and you will be able to hear and respond to any requests or directions the dentist may have. Overall, you may feel light-headed or a tingling sensation in your arms and legs, but the effects of nitrous oxide will wear off soon after the mask is removed.

If you have questions or concerns regarding dental anxiety or sedation options, please give us a call. To learn about the services we provide, visit www.freshmeadowsdental.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Farid Hakimzadeh of Fresh Meadows Dental Care in Oakland Gardens, NY, call 718-224-7272.