What is emergency dentistry? You may need urgent medical care for your teeth or jaw if you have an accident while driving or cycling and injure yourself. Dental emergencies can also occur due to an accident or poor dental care. Many people leave an injury to the mouth or teeth unattended, thinking it will heal.
Natural healing from a traumatic dental injury rarely occurs. Many urgent dental issues require you to get emergency dentistry. So, what is emergency dentistry? What does an emergency dentist do? How are they different from general dentists and orthodontists? In this article, we will discuss a few dental issues that require immediate care.
What is Emergency Dentistry? The Role of an Emergency Dentist
In simple words, if we take a look at the role of an emergency dentist, they provide services for dental emergencies. In addition, it is worth mentioning that they deal with different ental emergencies that may vary from minor to major surgeries. Therefore, they are important in the dental healthcare industry, similar to other fields of operation and care.
They train in critical thinking, quick assumptions, knowledgeable evaluation, and read the scenarios one at a time to pick the right approach for dental recovery for each of their patients. The question is whether and how they are different from general dentists. Why is that? Well, sometimes, general dentists also provide emergency dentistry.
From quick diagnoses to checkups and treatments, they can offer various levels of oral care for patients. Some of the issues that they look at will give you the idea; they are below:
- Chipped/cracked tooth
- Lips or gum injury
- Toothache
- Sudden tooth loss
- Bleeding through gums/ near teeth (after extraction)
Dental Issues Requiring Urgent Care and Treatment
Accidents can occur nearly anytime and at any place. You might not even know how little things can cause severe injuries to different parts of the body. Surely, you might be aware of how painful it is to bite your tongue unintentionally. That is because it is also a dental emergency. However, being prompt in what to do can mean the difference between losing and saving a tooth when a dental emergency occurs. So here are some significant dental emergencies which require you to take immediate action.
Soft Tissue Damage (Injury)
Soft tissues in the mouth include the tongue, lips, cheeks, and gums. You may know soft tissue damages and injuries can occur in an instant. From unintentional bite force to a sudden fall on the ground (face-down)¸ you can see a bleeding lip, a ripped gum area, and more. This can lead to excessive bleeding, and sometimes infections can occur when such injuries aren’t treated well for long, leading to fever and other problems. However, emergency dentists can help you and provide quick relief before discussing any serious issue for tears, punctures, or lacerations.
Loose or Broken Dental Restoration
When you get tooth restoration, whether temporary or permanent, you must take utmost care of it, at least for the period that your orthodontists or cosmetic dentist suggest. Still, there are chances that you might suffer from an injury that may lead to the loosening the fixtures such as veneers, bridges, crowns, and more. However, emergency dentists are quick and efficient. They provide immediate relief from any pain or discomfort while discussing the best options for your recovery and further tooth restoration.
Cracked/Chipped Tooth
Tooth cracks and chips are common issues. You might be enjoying a sweet hard candy on your day off and suddenly hear a “click” that results in instant pain when you move your mouth. You can refer to this as tooth chipping or cracking because the enamel of your tooth/teeth breaks or suffers from severe physical deformation. Therefore, getting immediate dental healthcare services is best to prevent the fragments from reaching the stomach or developing infections.
Sudden Toothache
Last but not least of all, toothaches are also common since they can occur due to various reasons and causes. Yet, the most prevalent conditions or incidents involve deep cavities, infections, injuries, tooth chips, etc. Your emergency dentist will provide the best treatment methods to provide you quick relief before progressing further in the treatment of your toothaches’ underlying cause.
What is Emergency Dentistry? Conclusion
Do you wish to find the best dentists near you for immediate or planned care and treatments? You should get in touch with Ideal Smiles Dental. We have dentists who excel in their role as dental healthcare providers. With years of experience in the field, they can perform simple to complex dental treatments effectively.
Give us a call to book an appointment with Ideal Smiles Dental today.
IDEAL SMILES DENTAL
2955 Veterans Rd. W, Suite 2G
Staten Island, NY 10309
Reference Links:
https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/d/dental-emergencies
https://success.ada.org/~/media/CPS/Files/Open%20Files/ADA_COVID19_Dental_Emergency_DDS.pdf
https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/dental-emergencies-and-sports-safety/do-you-need-emergency-dental-care
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30454782/