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If you have recently been in a car accident, you know that the injuries you can sustain to your jaw, teeth, and face can be severe. In fact, if your injuries go untreated and you do not see an orthodontist right away, you could be living with permanent disfigurement or damage for the rest of your life. In fact, these kinds of injuries may be apparent physically, but they can also have mental, emotional, and financial consequences as well. If you are going through the recovery process after a car accident and sustained jaw or facial injuries, speak with an orthodontist as soon as possible to see how they can help relieve your pain and get you on the road to recovery. The sooner you call, the sooner they can help.
What kinds of dental injuries can you sustain?
Dental injuries are extremely common in car accidents and can be very mild or even severe. Even if you only have a mild dental injury, it is important to see your orthodontist as soon as possible so that they can fix the damage before it causes other long-term problems. When you get into a car accident, it is extremely common that you may:
- Hit the side of your head on the window.
- Hit your head on the steering wheel.
- Hit your head on the dashboard.
- Come into contact with the airbag.
When one of these scenarios happens, it is possible to chip, fracture, break, or get an avulsed tooth. When this happens, your orthodontist can likely fix these mild injuries with:
- Root Canals
- Caps or Crowns
- Veneers
- Braces
- Implants
While these may seem like minor injuries, you should still get them checked as soon as possible so your orthodontist can fix them.
Jaw Injuries
Because whiplash is a common injury after a car accident, it is possible to also get temporomandibular joint pain (TMJ). This jaw injury—and others—can happen when you hit the dashboard or when the airbag impacts your face. Your orthodontist can help you recover through bite guards, headgear, surgery, and recommending specific liquid diets. Depending on how severe your jaw injury is, you may only need a liquid diet with painkillers. However, the more severe the injury, the more likely your orthodontist will need to perform surgery to realign your jaw.
Facial Injuries
Similar to jaw injuries, you may suffer from facial injuries as a result of hitting the car or another object in your car upon impact. If this happens, you might sustain cuts, bruises, are damage to the bones around your mouth. When this is the case, you may need your orthodontist to make different incisions around your jaw to carefully reposition any broken bones.
It is important to seek help from your orthodontist after an accident like this so you can get the proper treatment and so they can help document your injuries for your legal claim.
Resources:
Wikipedia, Dental Care
