Emergency dentist services are for patients who are experiencing an emergency dental issue. Therefore, you shouldn’t seek emergency dentist services on every dental issue that you have. You must learn the difference between an emergency and regular dental issue.
Dental Care That Needs Emergency Attention
Heavy bleeding in the teeth or mouth is an example of an emergency situation. When there is a lot of bleeding, there is also a high chance of contracting the infection. Germs can stay in the blood that is pooling in your mouth and cause infection to the gum and other parts of the body. Seeing a dentist immediately to stop the bleeding can stop the infection from taking place.
A knocked-out tooth is another common dental emergency. A knocked-out tooth can be put back into the socket by the dentist. If you accidentally knock out a tooth, you should pick it up and keep it in a small container of milk until you can see a dentist. When you pick up the tooth, you must avoid touching the root.
A cracked tooth can be very painful. If you have cracked tooth, you will experience symptoms such as pain when chewing, or sudden pain when you are eating something that is hot or cold. You should see a Hammersmith dentist when you suspect you have a cracked tooth. You can temporarily ease your pain by cleaning the mouth with warm water and applying a cold compress.
You need a dentist to help you make an adjustment to your braces as the wires have snapped and are hurting your gums. You are going for radiation treatment and you need a dentist to make denture adjustment. If there is an abnormal tissue in your mouth, you should not delay getting it checked by a dentist to make sure it is not cancer.
A dental abscess can be a life-threatening condition if it is not treated promptly. It is an infection that is accompanied by pus in the tooth. If you have a tooth abscess, you may experience fever, toothache, and pimple-like bump on the gum. A dental abscess happens as a result of an infection that has spread into the jaw and nearby tissue. Prior to seeing a dentist, you can gargle with salt water a few times. If you have a dental abscess, you could also be developing other health complications so it is important to seek dentist attention as soon as possible.
Dental Care that can be rescheduled
It is not a dental emergency if you can wait for a few days to see the dentist. For example, you don’t have to see a dentist if you have a loose tooth that it is not very painful. You can let the loose tooth come off on its own. If your tooth has lost its filling, you can temporarily substitute it with a piece of sugar-free gum. If you lost a crown, you can try to glue it back with a denture adhesive. Some of the dental care that can be rescheduled are regular visits for exams and cleanings, follow up visits for orthodontic braces, and tooth whitening.
How to Avoid Dental Emergency
The best is to practice precautions by taking good care of your teeth with healthy oral hygiene habits. As a rule of thumb, you should be diligent in going for routine checkups at least twice a year. During checkups, the dentist can check if your teeth have any problem. He can create a customized treatment plan to fix the dental issue before it is escalated to an emergency.
