Feb 26, 2023

What Classifies As a Dental Emergency?

Any issues involving your teeth, gums, and jaws that require immediate attention classify as a dental emergency. Dental health is crucial for your overall health, and when you experience oral health issues, essential activities like speaking, eating, drinking, and smiling become challenging.

Whenever you confront a dental emergency, you must establish contact with dentist 60453 to receive attention without delay. If you find it challenging to determine what dental emergencies are, please continue reading to learn about the most common dental problems dentists treat when patients visit them complaining about pain in their mouth.

Nine Common Dental Emergencies

  1. Tooth Pain: Your body indicates something is wrong when a particular area becomes painful. The severity of the pain determines whether you have a dental emergency that needs prompt treatment. For example, if you experience severe discomfort when biting or chewing, you must visit your dentist as soon as possible.
  2. Swelling: swelling in your mouth indicates infections directing you to the emergency dentist near you requesting treatment for the unusual swelling in the mouth. You can use a cold compress to alleviate the swelling until you reach the dental practice.
  3. Knocked-Out Tooth: knocked out teeth need replacement in your mouth within 30 minutes if you intend to preserve your natural tooth. It indicates you need treatment from an emergency dentist within the specified timeline making it essential for you to pick up the tooth on the floor, hold it by the crown, and rinse it gently if dirty without scrubbing the roots. You can place the tooth in its socket if possible. However, if you can’t, you can put it in a tiny milk container to keep it moist until you reach the dentist’s office. If you get to the emergency dentist within half an hour, they can splint the tooth to the neighboring teeth to allow its roots to reattach in a couple of months.
  4. Dental Abscesses: pimples on your gums represent a dental abscess appearing red, white, yellow, or clear. If you have a dental abscess on your gums, refrain from popping it because the infection spreads throughout your body. Instead, visit the dentist nearby immediately to receive treatment with antibiotics and painkillers.
  5. Mouth Sores: painful and persistent mouth sores are dental emergencies. Canker sores need immediate treatment from dentists to ensure they help alleviate your discomfort.
  6. Infections: any infection in your mouth is a reason to visit the dentist because the condition in the mouth spreads to other parts of your body.
  7. Bleeding: if you bleed from the mouth when brushing and flossing or spontaneously, it indicates a severe gum infection that needs treatment sooner instead of later.
  8. Tooth Sensitivity: many people experience some sensitivity in their teeth. However, if you notice an increased sensitivity when having hot or cold foods, it indicates a severe underlying condition that might require surgery to eliminate the infection inside your tooth.
  9. Broken Tooth: a slightly chipped or broken tooth causing no pain and doesn’t need emergency treatment. The reverse is true if you experience bleeding and pain from the damaged tooth. Therefore if you have a bleeding and painful broken tooth, you must see the emergency dentist to have the tooth sealed immediately to prevent infections in your mouth.

Handling Your Dental Needs

Handling your dental needs is not challenging because it merely needs caring teeth and mouth by brushing twice daily, flossing once, refraining from having sugary and starchy beverages and foods, and getting six monthly dental cleanings from your dentist to prevent unexpected dental emergencies. In addition, you must ensure that you follow your dentist’s instructions to care for your oral health, including using mouthguards if you are in contact sports that might result in a broken, knocked-out tooth.

Are You Dealing with a Dental Emergency?

Any pain in the mouth doesn’t represent a dental emergency. For example, a toothache can result from food particles trapped in your teeth, and broken or loose restorations can wait until you can see your regular dentist for treatment. However, you need to understand dental emergencies before rushing to the emergency dentist nearby requesting therapy for the condition. Gather sufficient information about dental emergencies. You will find it beneficial to care for your mouth by asking for a customized treatment plan from your dentist, which they provide to prevent dental emergencies from occurring.

Family Dental Care — Oak Lawn provides emergency dental care to patients arriving at their practice without appointments or making them wait in a queue. When dealing with a genuine dental emergency, you find it beneficial to contact them for the treatment you need, confident that you will overcome your dental situation.

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