When a dental emergency hits, the unexpected pain not only affects every aspect of your life, but you must visit an experienced dentist as soon as possible. The faster you schedule the appointment, the better success you will have at reducing the risk of serious complications down the line. Quick action can sometimes be the difference between a tooth restoration vs. a necessary emergency extraction.
The good news is that modern dentistry offers many treatments to address the most common dental emergencies. Whether you have a toothache or trauma to your mouth, our team at Norwich Aesthetic Dentistry is here to help with a full range of treatments for your unique needs. We’ve invested in top-notch technology to ensure the best results for our patients.
The best thing you can do is call us right away when you need emergency dental care. We can often provide same-day appointments for our patients, as well as on-call weekend availability, depending on your needs.
We Treat All Types of Dental Emergencies
What are the signs and symptoms indicating that emergency care is needed in dental? If you are experiencing pain, bleeding, inflammation, or anything unusual in your mouth, then the best thing you can do is call our office to determine if you need an emergency appointment.
What defines a dental emergency? The main difference between regular dental appointments and emergency services is in the timing of when you visit our office. Regular appointments are not urgent. You can plan and schedule the appointment at your convenience. On the other hand, emergency dental services require immediate attention due to the nature of your dental issues.
For example, if your gums are bleeding or you have a toothache, then you don’t want to wait until the next available appointment. There is an urgent need for treatment as soon as possible, which is why you should call our dental team right away.
What is the primary cause of most dental emergencies? Usually, it’s damage or an infection that affects either the teeth or gums (or both). These issues don’t go away on their own, which is why dental treatments are required to protect the tooth and help you find relief from the discomfort.
Common dental emergencies that require immediate treatment include:
- A knocked-out tooth
- Loose tooth
- Chipped or cracked tooth
- Severe toothache
- Sudden, unexplained pain in your mouth
- Abscess or infection
- Trauma to the teeth and gums
- Broken dental filling or crown
- Swelling or inflammation in the gums or face
- Extreme tooth sensitivity
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, then we encourage you to call our experienced team to schedule an emergency dental appointment. Immediate care is often necessary to prevent further damage or infection.
How Do You Respond to a Dental Emergency?
Depending on the type of dental emergency you are experiencing, there are a few things you can do at home to alleviate the discomfort and decide whether you need dental emergency care.
If you have a toothache, then start by flossing around the tooth and rinsing your mouth with a saltwater solution. Sometimes, the toothache occurs because food is caught in the gums or between the teeth. Removing the trapped particle can alleviate your pain. But, if you follow these steps and the discomfort doesn’t subside, then it’s time to call our office.
Here are a few recommendations for handling other types of dental emergencies:
-
- Knocked Out Tooth: Bite down on gauze to control the bleeding. Find the tooth and carefully pick it up by the crown – avoid touching the root of the tooth. It’s important to keep the tooth moist, so we recommend that you put it in milk or saliva until you can come to our office. You need to have a dentist emergency appointment right away, within an hour if possible, to increase the chances of saving the tooth.
- Severe Toothache: Follow the steps listed above for flossing and rinsing the tooth. Other emergency treatment steps include placing a cold compress on the affected area and using over-the-counter pain medication. It’s best to visit a dentist quickly, especially if you also have a fever or swelling around the tooth.
- Cracked or Broken Tooth: Even a small crack or break in a tooth can result in severe pain. There isn’t much you can do for this issue at home, other than taking pain medication until you can visit the dentist. Call us right away and we can restore the tooth through emergency dental service, including options for fillings, crowns, or root canals, depending on the extent of the damage.
- Infection or Abscess: When an infection develops, your gums might start bleeding or you could have an abscess forming at the base of a tooth. This condition is quite serious and requires immediate treatment. Delaying the treatment of a dental abscess could pose a serious threat to your health – even systemic infections that can become life-threatening. Symptoms of an abscess include swelling, fever, and the formation of a pocket of pus.
When to Call an Emergency Dentist vs. Go to the ER
An emergency dentist has the training and experience to help with many critical dental issues. If only the teeth and gums are affected, then it’s likely that a dental office is the only place you need to go for treatment.
But there are times when dental emergencies cross into medical emergencies, which means you might need to visit the emergency room or an urgent care center before going to see a dentist. For example, if an accident happens and there is severe trauma to the face, then head straight to the emergency room so that they can manage the bleeding and get the medical issues under control. After treatment in the emergency room, then you can visit an emergency dentist for tooth restoration and other services that might be necessary.
Another example of when you need to see a medical doctor instead of a dentist is if the facial swelling is moving into the neck or you are having difficulty breathing.
On the other hand, a dentist is the right professional to call if you have a toothache, gum issues, or other problems in the mouth that are not life-threatening.
Professional Care and Immediate Treatment Can Save Your Tooth
You want to maintain a lifetime smile, which is why it makes sense to be proactive about emergency dental service if you notice anything wrong in your mouth. Don’t delay this appointment! The sooner you visit a dentist, the better chance you have of saving the tooth and avoiding more invasive treatments in the future.
The first step is to call our office when a dental emergency occurs. We will provide recommendations for immediate first aid and work you into the schedule so you can visit an emergency dentist as soon as possible. Our patients keep our contact information in their contact list so they can always seek immediate dental care when needed.
For more information about the ways we can help, explore our emergency dentistry services. We are here to assist with emergency appointments, general dental care, cosmetic treatments, and more. Please call our office about protecting your oral health, please call our office at (860) 889-6445.