When you have a medical emergency, you head to the emergency room, or in some cases, urgent care. But what do you do when you have a dental emergency? And just what counts as an emergency when it comes to your teeth and mouth?
Patients ask us these questions from time to time, and it’s no wonder. The pathway to handling dental emergencies isn’t always clear or well-defined. That’s why we’re so happy to offer some clarity and guidance in this post.
Signs It’s an Emergency
First, let’s talk about what counts as a dental emergency for Orange City area patients that they should act on immediately, versus what can wait for a few days. Mild tooth soreness and sensitivity, for example, are definitely reasons to make an appointment with your dentist. However, you generally don’t need to be seen right away for these issues.
Here are some general signs that your dental woes do constitute an emergency:
- Excessive Bleeding: A few drips of blood, or bleeding that stops after a few minutes, is one thing. If you’re bleeding excessively or can’t get the bleeding to stop, that’s an emergency.
- Severe Pain: Some toothaches have a mild, throbbing quality that you can stand for a day or two. But if the pain is sharp, relentless, or persists even after you take pain relievers, you’re crossing into emergency territory.
- Fever: Fever is a sign of infection. An infection that is already causing a fever has the potential to spread, so you should seek emergency care for dental problems accompanied by a fever.
Common Dental Emergencies
Not every case is cut and dry, but for the most part, if you’re dealing with one of the following situations, your concern is an emergency.
Badly Cracked or Chipped Teeth
Small cracks and chips that only involve the tooth enamel are more cosmetic than anything. Your cosmetic dentist can use veneers or inlays to hide them. However, larger chips and cracks can penetrate through the enamel and expose the deeper, more sensitive layers of your tooth. As such, if you have a more serious chipped tooth, urgent care is important.
For example, if you chipped away a whole corner of a front tooth (incisor), it’s likely an emergency. If a crack extends to the base of your molar, that’s an emergency, too.
Knocked-Out Teeth
Maybe you knocked out a tooth entirely. This is an emergency for several reasons. First of all, if you act quickly, your dentist may be able to save the tooth and reinsert it in your mouth. Secondly, all parts of the tooth root may still be in your jaw and can lead to infection and other complications if not dealt with promptly.
If you do knock out a tooth, try to locate the tooth. Rinse it with water, but do not scrub it or remove any bits of tissue. Try to put the tooth back into its socket, and head to the dentist. If you can’t get the tooth back into its socket, you can preserve it in some milk. Pharmacies also sell special tooth preservation solutions that work even better than milk. Save-a-Tooth® is a popular brand.
Bad Toothaches
Toothaches usually indicate that you have tooth decay or an abscess. If the toothache is bad enough to interfere with your life, or if it has a sharp, piercing quality, it’s likely caused by an abscess.
A dental abscess is an infection in the deeper tissues of your tooth. The infection can spread to neighboring tissues, such as your jawbone or even your blood. Since serious pain is usually an indicator that the abscess is quite severe, this qualifies as an emergency. Plus, the pain in and of itself is something you need to seek care for right away!
In the meantime, you can take over-the-counter pain relievers to help dull the pain. NSAIDs, like ibuprofen and naproxen, tend to be the most effective since they also reduce inflammation.
Abscesses With Fevers
Another sign your abscess is an emergency is a fever. You may feel cold, then hot in close succession. Some people say a fever makes their skin feel clammy, and others find they sweat excessively. A low-grade fever in and of itself isn’t too dangerous, but a dental infection that’s severe enough to cause a fever counts as an emergency.
Potential Broken Bones
A lot of dental emergencies are caused by falls or blows to the face. It’s not always just your teeth that suffer from an accident like this. Facial trauma from falls and hits can also cause breaks in bones such as the mandible (your lower jawbone) and maxilla (your upper jawbone).
In complex cases like this, where broken bones are expected, you’re often best off heading to the emergency room. They can evaluate the injuries and coordinate with a pain relief dentist or dental surgeon, if needed.
Lost Fillings or Crowns
A lost filling or crown can also constitute an emergency. Fillings often extend through the enamel, so when they go missing, they can expose the deeper, sensitive tissues of your tooth to air, saliva, and food. This can cause pain and make chewing seem impossible.
Crowns are usually put on badly damaged teeth, and without a crown, that tooth may be susceptible to decay or additional damage. So, you want an emergency dentist to replace the crown right away.
Seeking Care for a Dental Emergency
So, who do you contact in case of a dental emergency? If the problem occurs during working hours, contact your dentist. They’ll ask you a few questions, confirm whether you’re in an emergency situation, and arrange to provide same-day dental care.
If your dentist’s office is closed, you’ll need to contact an emergency dentist that you can rely on. If you don’t know of one, call your general dentist’s number. At Orange City Modern Dentistry, we do our best to guide patients over the phone when emergencies happen.
And don’t forget – as mentioned above, you should head to the emergency room if your injury involves more than just your teeth and gums. The ER is best equipped to deal with serious, traumatic facial injuries and can get a dentist on board if needed.
Preventing Dental Emergencies
There is no way to protect yourself from 100% of dental emergencies. However, there are some steps you can take to reduce your risk.
- Wear a Mouthguard: Whenever playing a contact sport, or really any sport that involves a ball, wear an athletic mouthguard. This goes a long way towards preventing knocked-out and chipped teeth.
- Practice Good Oral Hygiene: Brushing twice a day and flossing daily helps prevent tooth decay that can lead to dental abscesses and toothaches.
- Schedule Regular Check-ups: See your dentist for a cleaning and checkup every six months! This way, problems like damaged fillings or loose crowns will be caught and addressed before they become a dental emergency.
Sometimes, dental care just can’t wait. At Orange City Modern Dentistry, we help our prevention-centered approach helps patients avoid dental emergencies whenever possible. Contact us to learn more about our services or to schedule a visit.