What Counts As A Dental Emergency?
Most people don’t think dental problems require emergency services, but that’s not always the case. There are lots of examples where a seemingly unimportant dental issue needs to be addressed right away.
Emergency dental health services are designed to help people remove dental discomfort quickly, and help protect their overall oral health.
If you’re wondering what exactly counts as a dental emergency, keep on reading this shorter blog post.
Common Examples of Dental Emergencies
1. High Levels of Pain
A toothache is never normal, and it rarely goes away on its own. Most patients may be able to control their discomfort with over-the-counter pain medication to a point, but there may come a time when that is not possible anymore.
If you are experiencing severe levels of dental pain that keep you up at night or prevent you from concentrating on other tasks, then you are most likely dealing with a dental emergency.
2. Tooth Infection
An infected tooth is a serious oral health issue that needs immediate attention. If a tooth becomes infected, it usually means the inside of the tooth is full of harmful bacteria that are slowly eating away at all the tissue.
Untreated tooth infections can have severe consequences on your oral health. They can cause the tooth to crack or loosen, eventually increasing your chances of permanent tooth loss. The infection can also spread to other surrounding tissues, even your jaw bone.
In rare cases, a tooth infection can also cause a life-threatening condition called sepsis. The only way to effectively treat an infected tooth is with a root canal.
3. Knocked-out Teeth
If you suffer an accident and one or more teeth get knocked out, seeking emergency dental services could prevent permanent tooth loss.
In some cases, a knocked-out tooth can be reimplanted into the socket. To increase your odds, you should keep the tooth in an airtight container filled with milk, which will help preserve it until you get to your appointment.
4. Uncontrolled Oral Bleeding
If you are bleeding from the mouth, and it doesn’t seem to stop, you have yet another case of a dental emergency.
Oral bleeding can be caused by many different things, such as a damaged tooth or even gum disease. In any case, an emergency dental appointment can help remove the bleeding and even treat the underlying cause.
Dealing With a Dental Emergency? We Can Help
The easiest way to recognize a dental emergency is to ask yourself if the problem you’re facing can wait for a regular appointment or not.
If it can’t, can see you for a swift appointment to help reduce your discomfort and restore your oral health.
Call us at (512) 961-6200 for an emergency dental visit.
For a regular appointment or more information, you can reach out to the Emergency Dentist of Austin online.