What Is Emergency Dentistry?

Emergency Dentistry blog

Emergency dentistry is something that requires immediate dental care. It is imperative that you see a dentist as soon as possible after the incident.

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So how do you know if you have a dental emergency? It is important to recognize the difference between a typical dental issue that can wait until morning vs a genuine emergency that can jeopardize your health or cost you a tooth. Here is what you need to consider:

  • Pain: Severe pain or bleeding are signs of an emergency.
  • Lost a tooth: Rapid treatment can potentially conserve a tooth.
  • Loose teeth: As adults, you should never lose teeth. A loose tooth can either be with or even without pain but is considered a serious problem.
  • Infection: The formation of an abscess or serious infection can be potentially life-threatening, and you should not wait and must seek medical treatment immediately. Swelling of the gums and face can be associated with such infections.
  • Bleeding from the mouth

In general, immediate treatment to stop bleeding, alleviate severe pain, severe infections, or to save a lost tooth is recognized as a dental emergency. If you suffer from any of these symptoms, you may require immediate dental care. Your teeth are something that you want to last a lifetime, so it is extremely important to see a Dentist as soon as possible after the incident. Contact The Smile Designer Dental Studio immediately and explaining your incident and our friendly staff can get you the help you need.

What Is not a Dental Emergency?

If the problem can wait until your dentist can see you in the next couple of days, it is not a dental emergency. These include and is not limited to:

Chipped or cracked tooth: If the fractured tooth does not hurt you then it is something that can wait, but if the chipped or cracked tooth is very painful then it would be considered as an emergency as nobody likes to be left in severe pain.

A toothache: Given that the toothache is not associated with severe pain, no symptoms of abscess and no signs of inflammation and fever, then this can also wait for treatment.

Lost a filling or crown: In this case, you can likely wait a few days to see your dentist. Temporarily you can place sugar-free gum into the cavity after losing a filling. With a lost crown you can use denture adhesive or over-the-counter dental cement to temporarily fix the crown back on until you seek treatment.

What to do in meantime:

Knocked out tooth: It is important to act quickly after a tooth has been knocked out as this can increase the chances of saving your tooth. To ensure this it is important to understand the steps of what needs to be done to preserve a tooth before you reach your dentist. It is important to not touch the root when picking up the tooth and carefully rinsing it. Do not scrub the tooth. Placing your tooth back in your tooth socket is ideal, but if this cannot be done, then place the tooth in a container with milk. It is important to get to your dentist as soon as possible as the quicker you get to your dentist the greater the chances of saving and reinserting your tooth.

Cracked or Chipped Tooth
Sometimes cracks or chipped teeth can be pain free other times when they are severe and serious fractures, they can be very painful. In such cases, it is important that you rinse your mouth with warm water, to avoid any facial swelling cold compressors can be applied to the outside of your face Take acetaminophen for the pain but avoid using a painkiller or numbing gel because it can damage your gums.

Abscessed Tooth
A dental abscess can be potentially life-threatening and is considered as a severe condition where a sack of pus in the tooth has consequently led to a severe infection. An abscessed tooth can be associated with other symptoms such a fever, persistent toothache, tooth sensitivity, tenderness or swelling of lymph nodes, swelling of face and gums Rinsing your mouth numerous times with warm salt water can help pull pus to the surface and reduce any pain and swelling. It is important you seek medical attention from your dentist as soon as possible as such infections can further spread to your jaw and surrounding tissues leading to other complications of the body.

How to Avoid Potential Emergencies
Like any other health problem, the best way to prevent dental emergencies is to take precautions and to be proactive in your oral health ensuring that you continue to maintain your oral hygiene regime at home as well as continue to have routine check-ups with your dentist. These visits are there to help you and your dentist to ensure that the health of your teeth is up to date. These visits will ensure that you do not have any loose fillings and crowns as well as signs of decay, infection, and gum disease. But unfortunately, all things cannot be controlled although comprehensive dental hygiene routines can minimize the risk of dental emergencies and help prevent such circumstances, dental emergencies happen!

Seeing a dentist as soon as possible can largely depend on the availability of the dentist. Here at The Smile Designer Dental Studio, we have pre-reserved emergency dental hours and slots, which allow us to better assist our patients sooner rather than later. This not only increases their chances of saving a damaged tooth but also limits pain and discomfort for patients.

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Dr Dev Boparoy

Dr Dev Boparoy

Madeleine Duff

Dr Madeleine Duff

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