A dental emergency can differ from a traditional emergency, but not by much. When you have a dental problem, you need to know if you need emergency dental care or not. Here are signs you have a dental emergency and need to seek the assistance of a dentist right away.
You have severe pain that won't stop
If you have dental pain that is not stopping no matter how hard you try to deal with the pain and how much you have treated your symptoms, you need to consider emergency dental care. Your dentist will examine your mouth to look for signs of nerve damage in any of your teeth and will check for signs of infection and other issues as well. If your dental pain is worsening, accompanied by a fever, or you are also bleeding in the mouth and cannot stop the pain, seek emergency dental care or the assistance of your nearest medical facility for care and a dental referral.
You have damaged dental work
If you have any dental work that is damaged, you need to seek emergency dental care right away, especially if the damaged tooth is now exposed. For example, a damaged dental crown or veneer can leave the thinning and weakened enamel susceptible to more damage and pain and should be taken care of right away.
Whether you have broken a bracket to your braces or lost a dental implant, you need to seek emergency dental care as soon as you can. Your dentist may even repair the work at no cost to you if the work was recently done.
You have a broken or missing tooth
It happens: a tooth gets knocked out or gets chipped on something hard. If you get to the dentist for emergency dental care right away, you can potentially salvage a whole tooth before nerve damage sets in. Even if you are in no pain and the damage appears to be minimal, consider going to your dentist immediately to have the situation assessed.
Put your tooth back in your mouth if you can find it or some of its missing parts and call your dentist for further instructions. Emergency dentistry techniques can help preserve your tooth when it would otherwise be lost.
Your dentist wants you to remain in great oral health and will perform emergency dental care when necessary. If you don't know if you have a dental emergency or not, call your dentist and ask them; odds are they'll have you come in for a quick exam, just to be on the safe side.
