When it comes to dental health, it's important to be aware of the potential for emergencies. An emergency dentist is a dental professional who provides same-day care for patients who have dental emergencies. Dental emergencies are situations that require urgent care, such as severe toothaches, chipped or broken teeth, sagging teeth, loose or broken orthodontic appliances, and excessive bleeding from the gums. A dental checkup consists of routine cleaning, x-rays and consultations every six months. A dental emergency is anything but routine.
In these cases, it is usually necessary to take obvious and immediate steps to treat severe pain, discomfort, or trauma in the mouth that can cause bleeding and lacerations to the gums and dislodge or fracture the teeth. Some cases, such as lost fillings, broken veneers, or broken dental appliances, while extremely inconvenient, are not an emergency. If left untreated, an abscess can cause further complications that would require immediate emergency treatment by the dentist. If you have suffered trauma to the mouth, such as broken or missing teeth, or any other type of tooth injury, or if you experience severe tooth pain, you should always seek emergency care from your dentist right away. If this is an emergency, it's good to know if you should see your dentist or go to the local emergency room. Below is a list of common dental emergencies and what you should do in each situation:
- Toothache: Rinse your mouth with warm water and floss around the affected area to remove any food particles that may be stuck.
If the pain persists, contact your dentist immediately.
- Chipped or Broken Tooth: Rinse your mouth with warm water and apply a cold compress to reduce swelling. Contact your dentist as soon as possible.
- Lost Filling: Rinse your mouth with warm water and apply a cold compress to reduce swelling. Contact your dentist as soon as possible.
- Lost Crown: Rinse your mouth with warm water and apply a cold compress to reduce swelling. Contact your dentist as soon as possible.
- Bleeding Gums: Rinse your mouth with warm water and apply a cold compress to reduce swelling.
Contact your dentist as soon as possible.
