What is Considered a Dental Emergency?

What is Considered a Dental Emergency?

Dental problems can occur at any time, and if you encounter severe dental issues, you need to look over an emergency dentist. However, it is important to understand the difference between a normal dental issue and a real dental emergency that could threaten your health and cost you a tooth. When you encounter a normal dental issue, you can see it with yourself and visit the dentist later before it becomes severe. But in the extreme severity of your conditions, you should see the emergency dentist immediately. Here, in this guide, let us discuss what a dental emergency is and what is not.

What is a dental emergency?

A dental emergency is any dental problem with a potentially life-threatening issue. Emergency dental issues are a pretty limited category, and the problem falling under the category is uncontrollable bleeding, spreading dental infections and trauma. Anyone experiencing a true emergency problem should see the emergency dentist. Otherwise, the risk is much higher than if you tend to lose your teeth, and some dental issues could even be life-threatening. When it is to be addressed, it is a good idea to treat it immediately with care. And, it is recommended to visit the best dentist to cure your problem.

What are some common causes of dental emergencies?

An unexpected accident like falling off your bike, car accidents, accidents that occur from work, sports injuries or even tripping and falling will lead to dental emergencies. When engaging in sports activities, it is important to wear proper protective gear like a mouth guard to avoid the risk of dental-related injuries.

What are some common dental emergencies?

Common dental emergencies are knocked tooth, infected tooth or a severe toothache. If you suffer from trauma to your mouth, including missing teeth or broken or any other form of injury to teeth or experiencing a severe toothache, you should seek an emergency dentist right away.

Another form of infection is a tooth infection that leads to a tooth abscess. If you are left untreated, it could further bring complications that require immediate emergency treatment from your dentist.

The following emergency dental problems should be taken care of immediately

• Severe toothache pain
• Chipped or Cracked teeth
• Trauma knocks out tooth from the mouth
• Trauma exposes the internal nerve chamber of the tooth
• Infection or swelling around a new wisdom teeth
• Dental infection
• A tooth filling comes out of the tooth
• Pain stemming from a dental crown
• If you identify a potential cancerous lesion in the mouth
• Placement of a crown restoration when temporary one is lost or causing problems

When should I visit the emergency room?

In fact, you need to seek care at an emergency dental clinic when it is imperative to stop spreading life-threatening infections in the head and heck, to stop uncontrollable bleeding and to keep your airway open for breathing.

What does not need emergency dental care?

Generally, some dental issues are not an emergency, and you can even wait for a few days to visit the dentist. Take good care of yourself.

• A broken tooth is only an emergency if the fracture is leftover with sharp fragments traumatizing inside your mouth or experiencing severe pain. If the chipped tooth doesn’t hurt, then you can visit a dentist within a few days.
• If the pain is not quite severe and you don’t have an abscess, then the toothache treatment can be delayed. However, contact your dentist immediately if you notice signs such as high fever or swelling, bumps on the gums.
• If you have lost a crown or filling, you can wait for several days to visit the dentist.
• If your crowns fall out, you can use the denture adhesive or dental cement until you see your dentist.
• In case you have lost your filing, you can temporarily replace it with sugar-free gum.

Patients with minor toothaches and swelling should not seek care at the emergency clinic. However, it is best to visit the doctor before it becomes an emergency.

How to avoid potential dental emergencies?

A great way to avoid dental emergencies is that you need to take good care of your teeth and gums and should have regular check-ups and cleanings with your dentist. During a routine visit to your dental clinic, you can check any signs of gum disease, decay or infections or any loose crowns and fillings.

A proper treatment plan will help to address these issues before it turns into an emergency. If you understand what a dental emergency is, you can look for the signs and avoid severe dental problems.

Summing it up

Hope this information might be helpful for you to know when to look for an emergency dental clinic. When you notice the sign of a dental emergency, then it is imperative to take timely treatment to prevent the situation from getting worse. Also, it is recommended to follow a dental hygiene routine to keep these circumstances under control. Ensure to get timely treatment and have healthy teeth and a smile.

Featured photo by Quang Tri NGUYEN on Unsplash