Fixing Your Teeth After a Crash

There are several things to know about recovering from a broken jaw caused by a car accident. First, a call center service provider can call if they have been injured. The first call should be to the police department of the city where they were involved in the accident. This needs to be done as soon as possible after an accident because all eyewitnesses need to report what they saw at the scene. Witness reports will come into play later if there is an insurance claim or lawsuit that comes out of the incident, but first and foremost, survivors of such accidents need medical attention right away. If you were in a car accident and suffered from dental damage, the following list contains the steps to take after the incident for the best results.

See a Dentist

After your injury, visit your dentist as soon as possible regardless of any pain or discomfort you may feel. To determine if any damage has been done and what kind of cosmetic dental treatment is required, you must have a professional assessment by a qualified dentist who can diagnose each damaged tooth and explain how they would repair it. Depending on how severe the situation is, this could mean a series of visits over some time to ensure all teeth are back in proper working condition again.

Get Your Teeth Fixed

Once your dentist determines the extent of the damage, they can begin to use whatever means necessary to fix your teeth. Such treatments include receiving a dental crown or root canal to rebuild any broken tooth. These dental services and techniques are extremely safe and reliable since you will be sitting in the dentist’s chair for an extended period. While your jaw should heal just fine within a few weeks after being broken, several medical spa treatments can also help speed up the recovery process.

Apply for Insurance Benefits

Suppose you were not at fault during the incident. In that case, your insurance company will likely take care of all medical expenses related to repairing your teeth through the car accident settlement process. However, it is still important that you ask if they can cover these costs since some companies may refuse your claim due to only suffering minor injuries at that moment in time. If this occurs, you can always pursue legal action with the help of an injury attorney to ensure you are compensated for all your efforts.

Seek Legal Help

Suppose you were not at fault during the incident. In that case, your insurance company will likely cover all medical expenses related to repairing your teeth through the car accident settlement process by filing a claim against the other party’s insurance carrier. However, if they refuse to pay up and you do not mind taking time out of your day to get what you deserve via an attorney. Many experienced dentists can review your case and determine what steps should be taken next. You must receive and maintain copies of any documentation provided throughout this process before signing any contract or agreement with them. Otherwise, you may lose certain rights to any settlement despite having an accident injury attorney.

Educate Yourself

Whether through your insurance company, an attorney or the driver who caused your injury, always take time out of your day to learn more about what step they are taking next or why it is necessary for that particular roadblock. If you are ever confused during any part of this process, then do not hesitate to ask them questions since their job is to ensure all affected parties are aware of every situation at hand. Asking questions will provide you with a far better understanding compared to other drivers who have experienced accidents before and can work towards maximizing their chances of receiving an appropriate amount of money from the settlement once the responsible party has approved it.

Get a Second Opinion

Suppose your car accident lawyer estimates how much you can expect to receive from the settlement. In that case, you must speak with another experienced orthodontist to ensure they know all aspects of your injury and can prevent potential mistakes when determining future treatment. This way, your chances of receiving a larger compensation amount will increase since legal experts are very thorough when going over possible cases in court.

If this is not a possibility, ask anyone who has worked with their firm in past cases or take time out of your day to visit a dentist to understand what kind of work you are looking at within the next few weeks. Additionally, some lawyers will offer new clients complimentary consultation sessions via telephone, so you can better understand how they work and what needs to be done next.

Follow Up with Your Dentist

Even if your accident injury attorney is handling most of the work, it is always best to keep your dentist aware of the latest situation to ensure that their efforts are wasted due to a lack of communication between all parties involved in the case. If anything changes, then make sure they are informed immediately since this will allow them to provide you with an accurate estimate when breaking down total treatment costs by type of service. This way, you will better understand whether or not any additional costs might be covered in full by the settlement without having any problems in future visits.

Listen to What Your Dentist Recommends

Even though you might not like all of the information provided to you by your dentist, you must follow their advice to ensure all future visits go as planned. If they suggest additional treatment plans that will take more time and money than initially expected, then make sure they are fully aware of said changes before signing any contract or agreement. When working with legal professionals on fixing teeth after an accident, it is always best to consult with them first so you know exactly what needs to be done next instead of simply jumping into making decisions without knowing why or how things should be handled appropriately.

Get Any Work Done Before Settlement Is Approved

The other step is ensuring any work paid for by the settlement is completed as soon as possible. The only exception will be if your car accident lawyer recommends otherwise due to a lack of trust in the other party. If this is not the case, you should try and get ahead on making appointments before any agreement between all parties has been made since it will be easier and faster than trying to catch up later down the road.

Keep Good Records of All Transactions Involved

When working with a lawyer, it is always best to keep track of every dollar spent so you know what went towards medical bills and how much was used for anything else such as transportation costs, food expenses, or even additional money made from side jobs such as selling smaller items online. This information will help you better estimate what kind of settlement you are looking at, especially if used as a guideline for future legal cases involving similar injuries and problems.

Avoid Strenuous Activities

A broken jaw can be treated with rest and a diet that does not require chewing. This diet should consist of soft foods such as mashed potatoes, pureed meat dishes, yogurt, and soups. Patients often eat their food through a straw because liquids are easier to swallow than solids. In addition to keeping the mouth clean by brushing twice a day and rinsing with mouthwash several times per day, patients should avoid smoking, drinking alcohol, and engaging in strenuous activities such as jogging and weightlifting during the recovery period.

Avoid Eating Immediately After Dental Surgery

A patient should not eat or drink anything other than clear liquids for 24 hours after surgery because food and solid objects can damage the suture line. Foods such as juicy fruits and vegetables, cereals, and grains should be avoided. Instead, patients can eat foods such as eggs, light soups, and toast during this time. After 24 hours without eating solid food, patients should follow their surgeon’s instructions about what foods to eat and how much.

Seek an Additional Dental Procedure

People who have had two previous malocclusion surgeries may need an additional procedure if they break their jaw again. This surgery is designed to keep the lower jaw from being pulled to the side after a serious accident. If a patient’s jaw is not wired immediately after surgery, they should get it fixed as soon as possible because moving the teeth can lead to permanent shifting. This is usually done within 48 hours of the initial surgery. If the jaw is not wired in time and teeth begin to shift, patients may need an additional operation.

Sleep With the Head Elevated Higher Than the Heart Immediately After Surgery

People with broken jaws should sleep with their heads higher than their hearts by using several pillows while bedridden immediately after surgery. This will help reduce swelling and ease pain caused by blood pooling in the jaw joint area. People do not need to sleep in this position all night. However, sleeping like this at least once or twice each day until swelling goes down is important to the healing process.

Follow the Doctor’s Instructions

If your doctor prescribes you medication, take it as directed and continue taking it for the time they specify. It would be best not to stop taking any prescribed medications without consulting your doctor first. Soon after your jaw surgery, you likely will not be allowed to eat any solid foods for several months. It is important to adhere strictly to your liquid diet and avoid anything that could damage or irritate your mouth during this time. This means avoiding hot food, spicy food, sticky candy and gum, acidic fruit drinks like orange juice and soda, chewing tobacco products, and smoking cigarettes.

Avoid Brushing and Eating Solid Foods for Some Time

It would be best to talk with your doctor about when you can start brushing your teeth again after having a broken jaw surgically repaired. You may need to wait until two weeks before all stitches are removed if the bones were wired together. If the bones were set and left unknitted, you might be able to brush your teeth one week after surgery. After your jaw is healed and you can eat solid food again, take care not to bite down too hard when chewing.

Incorporate Ideal Exercises to Strengthen Face and Neck Muscles

Your doctor can recommend certain exercises to strengthen your face and neck muscles so that they do not become damaged in the future. Refrain from physical contact sports until they allow you to resume them again. You should also avoid smoking cigarettes or other forms of tobacco, such as chewing tobacco. This reduces the risk of developing various oral health conditions like tartar buildup and gingivitis, leading to more severe problems if left untreated.

Talk With a Medical Malpractice Attorney About Your Case

As part of the car crash recovery process, it is important to talk with a medical malpractice lawyer about your case because that could help you recover damages for medical expenses, pain, and suffering, lost income, and similar items.

Medical malpractice lawyers offer expertise in medical tort law, so if you have suffered because of medical negligence or injury due to someone else’s carelessness, they deal with these cases every day. When filing an automobile accident suit involving personal injuries such as medical malpractice, there are several steps to take.

The steps in filing an automobile accident claim involving personal injuries such as medical malpractice include talking with a medical malpractice attorney and filing notice of intent within 90 days, proving that the defendant’s actions caused your damages, calculating pain and suffering, and medical expenses, and lost wages, and lastly seeking medical malpractice financial compensation.

A broken jaw can be one of the most painful injuries you can experience. Suppose you have recently experienced a vehicle collision. In that case, your injury may have just become more complex to solve, considering that almost half of all car crashes result in some facial trauma. When your jaws are displaced because of the accident, it is imperative to visit an orthodontist right away so they can determine how to set it right again using medical equipment at their disposal.