When you hear the words “dental emergency,” what comes to mind? For most people, it’s probably an infection, broken tooth, or cavity. But for some people, their dental crises were a whole lot weirder. If you’re not squeamish and want some juicy dental dirt, grab your popcorn and read up on these weirder than weird oral health emergencies that prove that sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction!
How Does Your Garden Grow?
In a case that seems too bizarre to be true, a patient once arrived at the dentist complaining of tooth and gum pain. Thinking they needed a root canal, their dentist began cleaning their tooth roots and gums, only to find a different kind of root: a plant root! In fact, the patient had several tomato seeds that had sprouted in the oral cavity. They were literally growing plants in their mouth!
Coming Unglued
One patient tried to DIY her oral health to disastrous results. Apparently, she decided to reattach a fallen crown by supergluing it back into place. Unfortunately, she not only put it on the wrong teeth, but she also got it everywhere including the roof of her mouth and her throat!
Take Me Out
An elderly patient gave her dentist quite a surprise when he realized that the reason her dentures were in such disrepair was that she had not been removing them at all! For proper care, you must remove them to clean them at least once a day, and you should always take them out and soak them overnight. Not doing this can cause them to warp, crack, and smell bad, and that’s exactly what happened to this poor patient!
Stuck Up
In one particularly terrible situation, a man decided to take matters into his own hands and drill his own tooth at home with a regular drill. Unfortunately, to make matters worse, he then got the bit stuck in his tooth and needed an urgent appointment with his dentist to remove it. Definitely do NOT try this at home!
Thankfully, while not every dental emergency will require gardening skills or removing tools from your teeth, your emergency dentist can still help save your smile in an urgent situation. If you are experiencing any kind of oral health related problem, don’t attempt to fix it yourself: contact your dentist as soon as possible for further instructions!
About Dr. Puskas
Dr. Jane C. Puskas has led an inspiring career in dentistry that began with graduating cum laude at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. She has received awards from The American Society of Dentists for Children and the Grace Milliken masters in health policy and management from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1987, where she has served as a clinical assistant in the Department of Operative Dentistry and an instructor in the Department of Dental Care Administration.
Currently, she is an active member in the Pierre Fauchard Academy, American College of Dentists, and the International College of Dentists.
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Puskas, please visit our website or call us today at 404-261-7488.