Most of the time, when you vist your dentist it is by appointment only.
This is especially true if you are visiting with a speciality dentist,
who will need the proper scheduling to care for each patient.
There are some instances when an emergency visit with the dentist will
be necessary to save your teeth from permanent damage. It is important
to know how to recognize these situations because some injuries will
need the attention of an emergency dentist within the hour.
A toothache is a dental issue that should never been ignored. Although
it is rarely a sudden occurrence, most patient will not schedule an
appointment with their dentist until the pain becomes unbearable. A
toothache has many causes, including a cavity, cracked tooth, exposed
root, or gum disease. Many times if the pain is barely noticeable, you
can wait until your regular checkup with the dentist to address the
cause of the pain. In these situations, a toothache is less of an
emergency, and more of a simple issue that can be easily addressed.
Unfortunately, if you wait until the pain becomes unbareable it becomes
more of an emergency. An extremely painful toothache is considered an
emergency situation becomes this could indicate an infected tooth, which
could spread and cause more serious health problems. An emergency
dentist must then extract the infected tooth and clean the cavity to
prevent the spread of infection.
On the other hand, a severe tooth injury such as a knocked out or broken
tooth will need the immediate attention of a dentist. In the event of a
a injury that causes a tooth to fall out, you will have up to two hours
to successfully reattach the tooth because the root cells begin to die
when the tooth is knocked out. Likewise, a broken or cracked tooth will
need immediate attention to prevent further damage, especially to the
underlying root cells. A emergency dentist can also treat a broken jaw,
which is always an obvious dental emergency.
Most dental emergencies can be avoided with basic dental care. Although
many emergencies are caused by injuries that are unpredictable, there
are other situations that can be detected early by having a regular
checkup. This is especially true for issues involving a toothache that
has not yet gotten too painful. It is best to deal with this by
scheduling an appointment with the dentist as soon as there is
discomfort. However, with emergencies involving the unpredictabe, like
knocked out teeth, a dentist will be needed immediately to prevent
permanent tooth loss.
