What’s considered a dental emergency?
Dental emergencies are injuries or infections that can cause lasting damage to your oral health. Suffering a blow to the face, biting down on something too hard, or another kind of accident or injury are common causes of dental emergencies. Even a minor toothache can become an emergency.
A few examples of dental emergencies include:
- Abscesses (infections)
- Broken teeth
- Knocked-out teeth
- Severe mouth pain
Dental symptoms can be mild in some cases. But if they come with other symptoms, like fever or facial swelling, you could have yourself a dental emergency.
Do I need emergency dentistry treatment?
Toothaches are common, but it’s not always easy to know if your symptoms call for a trip to the emergency dentist. Injuries that knock out a tooth, bleeding that won’t stop, or severe tooth or mouth pain — these situations always demand prompt emergency dentistry attention.
Symptoms of a severe infection include fever and bumps on your gums. You should seek emergency dentistry treatment if you notice signs of an infection. Even if you don’t have other symptoms, you should always seek emergency dentistry treatment if the pain lasts longer than a day or two.
Emergency treatments focus on stopping bleeding, reducing pain, and preserving your natural teeth. In some cases, saving your tooth isn’t possible. An emergency extraction will be necessary.
Can emergency dentistry save a knocked-out tooth?
It’s normal for children to lose their baby teeth between 6 and 12. Baby teeth are naturally replaced with permanent teeth, but there’s nothing to replace a permanent tooth if it falls out.
If you lose a permanent tooth, it might be able to be saved with prompt emergency dentistry treatment. Find the tooth and carefully retrieve it without touching the root. Rinse it in cool water to remove visible dirt. Try to put it back in the socket and hold it in place with gauze.
If you can’t keep the tooth in place, put it in a glass of saliva or milk. Bring it to your emergency dental appointment. Dr. Hwang and her team will try to save it. Teeth that are put back in place within about an hour have a good chance of being saved.
Accidents happen to everyone. Knowing what to do in a dental emergency can protect your oral health. If you need quick emergency dentistry treatment, call the Smile for Miles Dental office today.
