When Should You Visit The Emergency Dentist
Dental emergencies can happen to anyone at any time. They will cause pain, discomfort and swelling, and if you do not seek emergency dental care right away, you may experience severe consequences and more serious issues down the road.
What Is Considered a Dental Emergency?
Knowing the difference between a standard dental issue and an emergency will help you determine when and if you need to contact an emergency dentist. Some dental problems can wait until your next dental visit, while others cannot. Some dental emergencies can threaten your health, and you must act quickly to restore your smile. If you’re unsure when to visit an emergency dentist or what is considered a dental emergency, this guide will tell you everything you need to know.
Start with the following questions:
Are you experiencing excruciating pain?
Severe pain and bleeding are signs of an emergency, and you must head to the emergency dentist immediately.
Do you have a lost tooth?
Prompt emergency dental care can save a tooth—you must get to an emergency dentist within a two-hour time frame to preserve the natural tooth.
Do your teeth feel loose?
A loose tooth is a serious problem for adults and may indicate a serious problem.
Do you have an infection?
An abscess or an infection in your mouth can be life-threatening, and treatment is required immediately.
Is there blood coming from your mouth?
This is a sign of a potential emergency, and you need to seek emergency dental care immediately.
If you answer yes to any of these questions, you cannot wait until your next dental appointment and will have to take a trip to your emergency dentist right away. Generally speaking, any dental problem that includes blood or excruciating pain is considered an emergency, and the same is true if you are trying to save a tooth. Severe infections are always considered emergencies, and you need immediate treatment as they can be life-threatening.
You should consider immediately visiting an emergency dentist if you experience any of the following:
Unexplainable Toothache
Toothaches should not be taken lightly because they are more than just a painful nuisance; this is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong. It’s a sign of a problem in your mouth, and an emergency dentist can help you find the cause of your pain. If you ever experience sudden and unexplainable tooth pain, you must seek emergency dental care to receive treatment.
Apply a cold compress until you get to your appointment to help manage your pain, and you can also try rinsing your mouth with saltwater. Over-the-counter pain medication can also provide you with temporary relief.
Swollen or Bleeding Gums
Occasional gum irritation is not considered a dental emergency. Still, if your gums won’t stop bleeding, this is a sign of an emergency, especially if the bleeding is accompanied by swelling and pain. This may indicate an underlying dental or health issue, and an emergency dentist will diagnose the issue and provide you with treatment right away.
Swollen Jaw or Mouth
If your mouth or jaw becomes swollen for no apparent reason, you need to visit an emergency dentist for immediate treatment. This may indicate an infection, irritation to your lymph nodes, or another issue requiring immediate professional dental care.
Exposed Nerves
This may cause excruciating pain, and your experience will only worsen if you wait to see your dentist. You must seek emergency dental care right away to prevent infections and further nerve damage. Visiting an emergency dentist immediately will also help prevent the need for more extensive emergency dental treatments.
Knocked-Out Tooth
When a tooth is suddenly knocked out of your mouth, it’s natural to feel shocked, but you must act fast because time is of the essence in these situations. If you get to an emergency dentist on time, they may be able to reinsert and preserve your tooth. Visit an emergency dentist as quickly as you can!
Before seeing the dentist, carefully pick up the knocked-out tooth by the top and ensure you don’t touch the root. Rinse the tooth without scrubbing it. If you cannot complete this step, place the tooth in a container of milk or water and bring it with you to your appointment.
A Missing Tooth Filling
A missing tooth filling is not a minor issue; a tooth can chip or break easily without this reinforcement. A missing filling can also expose your tooth’s nerves which can cause a number of dental issues that require immediate treatment—you should call your dentist right away.
A Broken Tooth Crown
When a dental crown breaks or falls off completely, your tooth will become exposed and vulnerable to infection and damage. An emergency dentist can replace the crown, which may prevent the need for a root canal, extraction or other dental procedure.
Abscessed Tooth
This serious and potentially life-threatening condition can cause fever, facial swelling, consistent pain, or sensitivity to hot and cold foods/beverages. Pimple-like bumps may also form on your gums near the infected tooth, and you need to seek emergency dental care immediately. This infection can spread to your jaw, surrounding tissue, and even other areas of your body.
Infection
This critical issue will worsen over time if you do not receive treatment. At first, you may experience slight discomfort, although symptoms will become worse over time, and you may have difficulty eating as time goes by. You may then experience swelling in your face or jaw and a high fever. Serious infections can cause abscesses; if left untreated, they may be fatal.
The Importance of Emergency Dental Care
Now that you know when to visit an emergency dentist, you need to learn about the importance of urgent dental care. Emergency dental services can help restore your oral health, and you will experience several benefits, including:
Save Your Natural Teeth
Tooth extraction is not ideal; an emergency dentist will do everything possible to save your natural tooth. A missing tooth will not only create a gap in your smile but can also lead to other problems like bone loss in your jaw and infections. You will also require dental implants or other dental treatments to fill the gap, which can be costly and time-consuming. Visiting an emergency dentist immediately will increase the chances of saving your tooth and maintaining your beautiful smile.
Eliminate Pain and Reduce Discomfort
Dental emergencies will result in pain and discomfort, but prompt dental care will diagnose the root of your pain, and treatment will be provided to eliminate discomfort.
Prevent Further Health Complications
If you do not seek emergency dental care, problems can multiply because infections and cracks can spread. Seeing an emergency dentist will stop issues from further affecting your mouth and teeth.
Dealing with a dental emergency is not fun, and the issue can affect your quality of life if you do not receive the necessary treatment. You will not be able to chew or speak properly and will suffer as a result of pain. Additionally, if an infection spreads to your throat, you may have trouble breathing but visiting an emergency dentist will ensure you get the treatment you need and prevent dental issues from escalating. The right treatment will restore functions, and you will no longer have to suffer from pain.
The treatment you receive will depend on the severity of the situation and the type of damage you are experiencing. Severe toothaches and chips or cracks may be treated with a dental filling, root canal treatment, extraction or antibiotic treatment. On the other hand, a broken or knocked-out tooth may require re-implantation, and a dentist may perform a root canal treatment, splinting or dental filling.
Conclusion
Are you looking for an emergency dentist near you in Georgetown? Mill Street Dental can provide high-quality dental care, and we will treat your dental issue immediately. We care about our patients, and your comfort will always be prioritized during your appointment. Dental emergencies are serious, and visiting our dental office will prevent your problem from worsening.
We will assess the situation and diagnose the problem, after which we will provide you with the best treatment to restore your smile. Residents in Georgetown can depend on our emergency dental care services, and you can contact our office at any time to schedule an appointment!