Don’t Ruin Your Smile this St. Patrick’s Day!

You might be wondering, what do you mean “don’t ruin your smile”? Well, according to a report from last year’s St. Patrick’s Day, emergency dental visits for males went up 64% the following day. The report included all of the United States. For women, the national average actually dropped by 6%

Interesting. What could have caused this?

The research is unable to pinpoint an exact cause, but if we had to make an educated guess, it would be fair to say that alcohol is involved in a fair amount of these emergency dental visits. It is speculated that many people on this day go out and find themselves intoxicated as a result of too many Jameson Juleps or “green” beers. For many, alcohol brings out an aggressive nature that results in fights and knocked-out teeth, which would warrant an emergency trip to the dentist the following day.

What should I do if my teeth are knocked out?

This is just merely speculation. However, if you happen to find yourself on the receiving end of one of these instances, then here’s what you should with your knocked-out tooth (or teeth) until you are able to see a dentist:

• Find the knocked out tooth and grab it by its crown, not the roots.
• Gently rinse it off with warm water. Avoid scrubbing or removing any tissue attached.
• See if you can place it back in without much effort. If it doesn’t budge at all, then find a small container and store it inside with milk to help preserve it.
• Schedule the earliest appointment you can find, let your dentist know it’s an emergency. The longer you wait, the less of a chance you have to restore the tooth.

Is Ancestry to Blame?

What we mean by this is, are the results correlated to Irish descent of any sort? And the answer is no. Ancestry has nothing to do with the increase in emergency dental visits found in the report. Vermont was the state that showed no change in emergency dental visits, while Delaware, Mississippi, Maryland, and Nebraska all saw a significant increase.

Wishing you a safe and fun St. Patrick’s Day this year! Be sure to smile. ☺