When Do You Need the Services of Emergency Dentistry?
Besides causing excruciating pain, dental emergencies are also stressful to put you in a state of panic. Some dental emergencies are also life-threatening, causing intense discomfort leaving you wondering what you must do to manage the situation. Whenever a dental emergency strikes your dentist is the first person you must call. However, not every situation allows you to visit your regular dentist, making it imperative to seek treatment from emergency dentist near me.
Before you head to the dentist near me seeking treatment for what you believe is a dental emergency, do you understand the difference between a common dental problem that can wait until regular business hours and a dental issue threatening your health or may cost you a tooth? Therefore you need to learn how to recognize dental emergencies before seeking treatment for any issue affecting you after closing hours or late in the evening.
Recognizing Dental Emergencies
The American family physician mentions that approximately 22 percent of Americans have experienced dental or oral pain over the last six months. The data indicates dental emergencies are standard and can affect anyone.
Unfortunately, not every dental issue is an emergency. To help you in determining whether you can wait until your regular dentist is available or must seek help from emergency dentistry in San Rafael, you must ask yourself some essential questions. They are:
- Is Severe Pain Affecting You or a Family Member? Bleeding accompanied by severe pain are signs of an emergency.
- Have You Knocked out a Tooth? Prompt treatment potentially helps to save the tooth.
- Are Your Teeth loose? As an adult, you must never have loose teeth. A painless loose tooth is a severe problem.
- Do You Have Infections in Your Mouth? A dental abscess is a severe infection in your mouth and needs prompt treatment from the dentist San Rafael. Dental abscesses are life-threatening, making you notice swelling or pimples on your gums and around the face.
- Is Your Mouth Bleeding? Bleeding from the mouth is a sign of an emergency.
Generally, any dental issue needing prompt treatment to prevent bleeding, alleviate severe pain, or preserve a tooth falls into the category of a dental emergency. Application of similar considerations to infections is also necessary because they are life-threatening.
If you experience any of the symptoms mentioned above, you could be in the throes of a dental emergency. Call your dentist if possible and explain the situation you encounter. If the trouble made its presence felt beyond office hours, call San Rafael dentistry. If you find their office closed as well, rest assured a trained dentist nearby will quickly instruct how to manage the emergency over the phone.
What Aren’t Dental Emergencies?
Any issue that can wait until your regular dentist can see you in a couple of days isn’t a dental emergency. Dental problems all seem critical, but many in reality can wait for a day or two so long as you care for yourself appropriately.
For example, chipped or cracked teeth are considered as emergencies, especially if a fracture is causing severe pain and has left sharp fragments to cause trauma inside your mouth. However, if you have a painless chipped tooth, you can put off the emergency dentistry visit and schedule an appointment with your regular dentist to treat you.
If you have a mild toothache, the discomfort can wait for treatment so long as the pain isn’t severe and does not display any symptoms of an abscess on your gums. Most toothaches result from untreated infections and require a dental visit to have the problem corrected. However, if you notice a dental abscess, seek treatment from emergency dentistry immediately because a dentist near you may recommend painkillers and antibiotics to prevent the infection from spreading. After receiving advice from the dentist near you, do not overlook scheduling an appointment with your dentist because dental abscesses result from conditions to your dental pulp needing intensive treatments like root canals.
Is It Possible to Avoid Dental Emergencies?
Avoiding every dental emergency is practically impossible because accidents can occur at any time, leaving you with severe injuries to your mouth. However, if you are proactive with your oral hygiene regimen and visit your dentist for routine exams and cleanings, you can stay over your dental health and prevent unexpected dental emergencies from affecting you. Therefore spend some time learning how to recognize dental emergencies because the time you spend proves beneficial to manage unexpected dental situations.