There are dental issues that you can manage until the dental clinic opens the following business day. Other situation call for help as quickly as you can get it. If you’re wondering what sort of situations call for help from a dentist Heathwood, here are a few examples that provide an idea of when it’s appropriate to seek this type of support.
Loose or Dislodged Teeth
Any sort of mouth trauma that leads to teeth being knocked out or loosened enough for you to be able to wiggle them with the tongue is nothing to take lightly. In the case of a tooth that is all the way out of the socket, there is a limited amount of time to put in back in place before it’s a lost cause. This is not something you can do on your own; a dentist needs to take care of the situation.
When you call for help, there will be instructions on what to do just before leaving to meet the dentist. The instructions are intended to preserve the tooth until it can inserted back into the socket. In the case of loose teeth, you may be instructed to use ice packs or something similar to keep the swelling down until the dentist can examine your mouth.
Chips and Cracks After a Direct Hit to the Mouthwash
If a direct hit to the mouth did not result in loosening the teeth or knocking any of them out, there may still be some damage. This may be in the form of chips along the tops, or maybe hairline cracks that run across one or more teeth. All of these need attention as quickly as possible.
The emergency dentist will seek to stabilize the teeth and then take impressions that can be used to create dental crowns. In the meantime, you’ll get temporary crowns to protect the teeth. When the permanent ones are ready in a few days, you can go back in during normal business hours and have them put in place.
Bleeding That Won’t Stop
There’s blood everywhere, and nothing seems to stop it. All of it is due to a trauma to the mouth. A call to the dentist will result in access to help that can identify why the bleeding is not stopping, and what sort of effort must be made to bring it under control.
Depending on the findings, the dentist may have you transported to a hospital emergency room. In other instances, it will be possible to stop the bleeding in the dental clinic. That paves the way for deciding what else should be done to repair any apparent damage.
Intense Pain That’s Deep in the Tooth
While your teeth seem to be fine, you woke up with an intense toothache. This one seems to be emanating from inside the tooth. Rather than using over the counter pain relievers and waiting until Monday to call a dentist, call now.
The cause of the pain could be an infection in the tooth pulp. That could also mean an infection in the root and eventually the gum. The goal is to determine if this is the case. If so, it helps to know that root canals can replace the infected pulp, make it easier to bring the gum infection under control, and possibly save the tooth.
Gums That Swell Overnight
The pain doesn’t have to be in the tooth in order to merit a call for emergency dental care. If you were to get up in the morning and found that your gums were swollen and tender to the touch, something serious is happening. Your next step should to call for help.
Your dentist is likely to have you come in and order X-rays to find out what’s going on. After a quick exam and reviewing the test results, it will be possible to identify what’s wrong, administer treatments, and ensure you have a way to manage the pain as your gums heal.
Talk with your dentist about how dental emergencies are handled. While you hope to never need this type of care, it’s good to know that it’s available if an unexpected event should take place.
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