Understanding Emergency Dental Work
Emergency dental work can be defined as dental work that should be performed immediately to either alleviate symptoms or prevent worsening of a dental condition. It can be divided into different categories that include:
- Dental conditions that require immediate attention, maybe due to severe bleeding or maybe due to pain
- Dental conditions that if not fixed early might lead to worsening, which requires extensive treatment
- Dental conditions that if not fixed early might lead to irreversible conditions
Here is more information about these categories:
Severe Bleeding and Excruciating Pain
This is mostly caused by an injury to your mouth, particularly your teeth, gums, lips or cheeks. Dental cases under this category require immediate care. For teeth and gum injuries, visit a dental clinic, and for lips and cheeks, you can see your general practitioner.
Before being rushed to the clinic, let someone call the dental clinic in advance so that the dentist can prepare for your arrival. You may be asked various questions like what happened and how severe the injury is. This helps the dentist give you some first aid advice before getting to the clinic. Ensure that the dental clinic you call handles emergency cases and is near you. You can't see your dentist if he or she is located far from where you got your injury because you need your bleeding and pain alleviated as soon as possible.
Avoiding Extensive Treatment
Most of these conditions are caused by infections, bacteria or fungus. You might not need immediate care, but this depends on the stage the condition is at. An example can be a cavity. It occurs because of a combination of different factors like bacteria in your mouth, eating sugary foods and failing to brush frequently. You might not realise you have a small cavity until it has become bigger and reached some nerves. This is why you should inspect your teeth regularly. If you do not have such a tooth treated early, you might require extensive procedures like a root canal if the cavity becomes too large.
Avoiding The Irreversible State of a Dental Condition
Just like the avoiding extensive treatment category above, most of the dental cases that fall in this category are caused by infections, bacteria or fungus. A good example is gingivitis. If left untreated, it can lead to periodontitis, which gets into the jaw bone and cause your teeth to fall out. Teeth cannot be returned, therefore, you might require dentures or dental implants.
Learn where an emergency dental clinic is near you in case there is an emergency.