What is Considered as A Dental Emergency?
Emergency dentistry services are fundamental to the oral health of patients. Without it, many patients would incur permanent dental problems because of advanced infections and progressed symptoms. Unfortunately, very few understand what emergency dental health is about, and whether or not they should pursue it.
There is a thin line between a typical oral problem and a dental emergency. Often, it can be hard to distinguish between the two as a patient. However, to prevent dental ERs from flooding with patients who do not need emergency dental care, experts have drawn the line for patients. Read on to learn more.
What Is A Dental Emergency?
It is an alarming dental problem that is urgent, demanding immediate medical attention. Dental emergencies are some of those oral problems that prove hard to manage by yourself at home. For proper treatment, you would need the intervention of an emergency dentist.
As compared to typical oral problems, emergency dental issues are severe and threatening to the oral health of the patient. Sometimes, some oral problems can compromise the overall health of your body.
How Do You Tell The Difference?
It will not be easy to tell apart an oral problem that is urgent from a non-urgent one. While your gut can help you make informed decisions, it can also be misleading when it comes to health issues. Therefore, if you can answer some of the following questions regarding your dental problem, then you can properly determine whether or not you have an oral emergency:
- How severe are your symptoms? – the first thing you need to do is highlight the symptoms you have. From there, you have to observe the level of severity. Urgent oral problems are usually complex and severe.
- How well can you manage the problem from home? – if you are still in a position to manage your oral problem from home then it may not be as urgent. Usually, dental emergencies are difficult to manage, whether that means taking over-the-counter drugs or some other treatment.
- Can you wait to see a dentist at a convenient time? – the severity of a dental problem will often be noticed at an inconvenient time. When this happens, the pressure and urgency of the issue will have you seeking medical help even in that inconvenient time. If you can wait for a later time to seek treatment, then your problem may be non-urgent.
- Is the pain bearable? – one of the main reasons why patients seek emergency dental care is to resolve their pain. Pain can stand in the way of your life, holding you back from getting on with daily routines and activities. If it is unbearable, reach out to your dentist immediately.
- Are you at great risk of infection? – sometimes you need to consider your oral problem as an emergency if it puts the rest of your oral cavity, and even your body, at a high risk of infection.
Top Dental Issues Considered As Emergencies
Now that you have a guide you can follow to determine the urgency of your oral problem, here are some of the issues you should regard as dental emergencies:
- Severe bleeding – when you lose blood, your entire body is at risk. Blood in the mouth should be controllable and subside with time. If this is not the case, call your dentist immediately.
- Excruciating pain – any kind of pain that holds you back from proceeding with your normal life routines merits immediate attention.
- Missing oral appliances – if you have any appliance, for example, braces, dentures, or clear teeth aligners, losing them comprises your entire treatment. Do not go a day with such a problem, unless you want to undo all the good your previous treatment has done.
- Knocked-out tooth – it is one thing to have your tooth safely extracted, and a different thing to have it knocked out. The impact that causes a tooth to fall out can do a lot of damage in your oral cavity. You must have this issue checked immediately, for the sake of the remaining teeth, as well as the health of your jawbone. Besides, the quicker you get help, the higher the chances of your tooth being restored.