What Is Considered a Dental Emergency?

There are times when you have an accident at home that can be fixed using basic first aid knowledge. And there are those times when you know it’s best to see your doctor as soon as possible. A similar thing happens with dental care. Sometimes you have a concern that you can remedy by yourself or that can wait to be discussed at your next dental appointment. And then there are times when you need to seek emergency dental care as soon as possible.

Dental Emergency or Not?

The big question is: What is considered a dental emergency? Here are some situations that require urgent dental care because if you don’t seek treatment immediately, either the problem will get severely worse or it’ll become much more difficult to fix.

Knocked-Out Tooth

Once your permanent teeth come in, we want to help you keep them healthy and in place. If one of your permanent teeth has been knocked-out because of an accident, then you need to act quickly. Contact us immediately for instructions. There’s usually still a chance that the tooth can be placed back in its socket. You can try this yourself by holding the tooth by the crown and gently rinsing it before reinserting it. If reinserting it yourself isn’t possible, transport the tooth to our office in a container of milk or saline solution. Whichever scenario plays out, we will want to see you in the office as soon as possible.

Dental Abscess

A dental abscess is when a serious infection has caused pus to form inside your tooth. This isn’t something that’ll go away on its own. It’s important to handle it immediately since the infection can spread not only to the rest of your mouth but to the rest of your body.

Broken Tooth

A minor chip on your tooth that hasn’t reached the inner tissue should be corrected but it isn’t an emergency. On the other hand, a severely broken tooth should be looked at right away. That broken tooth can open the door up to infection. Plus, if it has a jagged edge, it can cut your lips, tongue or gums.

Dental Emergencies in Oakboro, NC

Have a dental emergency on your hands? Call Oakboro Family Dentistry now! We provide emergency dental care. If you are in doubt about whether you are experiencing a dental emergency, call us with the details. You don’t want to wait any longer than necessary to feel better.

Image by Authority Dental under CC 2.0

Categorised in: Dental Emergencies, Family Dental Care, Oral Health