Why You Should Deal With a Dental Emergency Quickly
Severe tooth decay and traumatic injuries caused by accidents are some of the major causes of dental emergencies. Symptoms commonly associated with dental emergencies include prolonged swelling of the gums, dental pain, and bleeding. Ensure you visit an emergency dentist near you soon as you start experiencing the symptoms associated with dental emergencies. Prolonging treatment for dental emergencies may have dire consequences and even result in tooth loss. In this article, we’ll discuss about dental emergencies, their symptoms, and what to do if you end up experiencing a dental emergency in the future.
What Is a Dental Emergency?
A dental emergency is a problem that affects the gums, teeth, and surrounding areas and requires immediate treatment. Although pain is common after a dental emergency, lack of it does not mean you do not have a dental emergency.
Some other causes of dental emergencies include viral, fungal, and bacterial infections. Since the causes of dental emergencies vary among patients, your dentist must first make a diagnosis before providing treatment. A damaged or loose tooth restoration is also considered a dental emergency and needs to be treated by an emergency dentist.
What to Do if a Dental Emergency Occurs?
The best thing to do in case of a dental emergency is to visit an emergency dentist as soon as possible. We recommend calling your emergency dentist first so they might guide you on what to do before visiting. If you have a loose tooth, try not to poke it, as this may cause more harm than good. Instead, apply a cold compress on the affected area to reduce dental pain and swelling.
If your tooth were knocked out after an accident, you must act fast to preserve it before visiting the dental clinic. Find a clean empty glass, fill it with milk, saliva, or clean salty water, then dip the tooth inside to preserve it. If you are bleeding orally, use gauze or a cold compress to control the bleeding as you wait for your dentist. You can take an over-the-counter pain killer to ease the pain.
Ensure you go for emergency dentistry in Gillette, WY, within the first hour of losing your tooth. We emphasize doing so because there is a better chance of your natural tooth surviving and getting restored if treatment is administered early.
Benefits of Getting Emergency Dental Care
Prevents Tooth Loss
A damaged tooth is weak and thus prone to further damage. If you delay treatment, the damaged tooth can weaken even further and make it easier for decay to spread. Fortunately, an emergency dentist can suggest tooth restoration to strengthen your tooth and prevent future tooth loss.
Reduces Chances of Infection
Infection is a major cause of tooth loss and oral diseases. It could easily find its way inside a weak, damaged tooth and, afterward, spread to healthy adjacent teeth. If treatment is delayed, the infection can get worse to the point that it spreads to other parts of the body, thereby causing severe health problems. To mitigate the risk of infections, visit a dentist near you as soon as you experience a dental emergency.
Relieves Dental Pain
Dental emergencies are often painful; the longer you delay treatment, the worse it gets. So, visit a dentist in Gillette, WY, for treatment immediately after you start experiencing dental pain. Your dentist will use an anesthetic to relieve you of dental pain before treating your dental emergency.
How to prevent future dental emergencies
Brushing, flossing, and going for regular dental cleanings to prevent dental caries
Not using your teeth to bite or chew on hard objects so as to prevent tooth damage in the form of cracks and chips.
Using fluoride-based toothpaste for stronger teeth
Having most dental problems detected early on through regular dental checkups
Conclusion
Dental emergencies can occur to anyone and at any time. It is thus vital that you learn what to do in case it happens to you. If you end up experiencing a dental emergency in the future, visit Mountain West Dental for treatment before it advances and becomes difficult to treat. Our dentists are trained to diagnose and treat a wide variety of dental emergencies in a quick but efficient manner.