If you have any dental condition you are definitely going to want to see the dentist – but how urgent is it? For ‘real’ dental emergencies you should rush to the dentist as soon as possible, whereas for other dental conditions you may be able to wait till the next day, or when it is convenient. Staten Island personal injury lawyers Jacoby & Meyers, LLP remind us that dental care is especially important for nursing home residents as a baseline of care. It is critical to ensure that any nursing home residents that are loved ones are being seen by a dentist.
In general there are a few real dental emergencies that you should know about, so that you can quickly get emergency care and prevent them from getting any worse:
- Tooth fractures
The most common dental emergency is a tooth fracture that is serious enough to be painful. It should be noted that a small chip is not an emergency and is unlikely to cause any pain.
Serious tooth fractures can damage the surrounding issue and cause an infection that affects your gums, jaw, and possibly other parts of your body. That is why it is always a good idea to get emergency dental care and deal with it as quickly as possible.
- Dislodged teeth
If one (or more) of your teeth are knocked out, you should find the tooth and immediately head to the dentist. No matter what you should not touch the root of the tooth when you pick it up, and try to find a small (and clean) container you can place it in.
Make no mistake a dislodged tooth is not really life-threatening. That being said it is considered a dental emergency because the sooner you get to the dentist, the greater your odds it will be able to be re-implanted.
- Abscessed teeth
An abscessed tooth is normally caused by an untreated cavity or injury that has caused pus to accumulate in the tooth and resulted in an infection. Some of the signs of abscessed teeth include a persistent toothache, temperature sensitivity, fever, swelling, and so on.
If it isn’t treated, the infection could very quickly spread to the surrounding tissue as well as the jaw – making it very serious. That makes it a dental emergency, and if you suspect you have an abscessed tooth you must visit the dentist at once.
- Significant tissue injuries
Any significant tissue injury involving the gums, lips, or cheeks may require an emergency dental visit. While you don’t need to worry so much about small wounds, large wounds that bleed quite a bit or puncture through the skin should definitely quality as emergency.
In the event that you do delay treatment, you should make sure the bleeding stops and there are no signs of infection. If the bleeding does not stop or you show any signs of infection, you should head to the dentist at once.
It helps to know the location of emergency dentist Bristol (website) or one that is nearby to your home and office. That way if and when a dental emergency takes place, you can get in touch with them and rush there immediately – rather than having to look it up and try to figure out where you need to go.