Emergency Dental Care Services

Do you only visit a dentist when you feel dental pain, or visit when it's already too late? Delaying or ignoring dental treatment can endanger your health and worst of all qualify you for dental emergencies. This is why going to your dentist for annual checkups is essential for maintaining optimum dental health.

What is a dental emergency?

A dental emergency is a medical emergency that involves the gums and the teeth. Dental pain, either minor or major does not only involve the teeth but parts of the mouth as well. When these conditions go undetected or remain to be ignored, dangerous and serious complications may occur.

Trauma to the oral cavity and teeth due to injury from sports or accidents also qualifies as dental emergencies. Un-repairable tissue and nerve damage may happen if these conditions are not immediately brought to a dental surgeon. Like medical emergencies, dental emergencies require qualified dental surgeons to identify the cause of the problem and treat them immediately to avoid further damage to the oral cavity, nerves and bones.

Examples of Dental Emergencies 
o Severe toothaches 
o Fractured teeth 
o Knocked-out teeth 
o Lodged foreign bodies in teeth 
o Severe gum injuries 
o Gum disease 
o Unexplained tooth loss

How will you know if you need a dental emergency?

If you are unsure of whether you should immediately consult your dentist, one important thing to consider is dental pain. Pain is an excellent indicator of teeth or gum damage; that is why dentist advise their patients to immediately consult their conditions if dental pain is felt.

Dental pain can either be extreme or tolerated, but when dental pains become unbearable it is important that patients immediately consult their doctors as this may fall under a dental emergency. Delaying treatment could lead to teeth loss or progressive gum and tissue damage.

What to do in case of dental emergencies?

Accidents and injury to the teeth from physical activities such as sports are often unavoidable. The most important thing to consider is to immediately call your dentist and do some simple emergency dental care. Here are a few tips on what to do just in case the dentist is not available immediately.

o Toothaches. Pain killers should not be taken immediately. These medications only mask dental pains and do not provide a cure. Some painkillers such as aspirin are dangerous as they increase your chances of bleeding, severe bleeding only complicates the medical condition and emergency dental care is advised. A good way of decreasing dental pain is by rinsing your mouth with warm water. This is good for removing the dirt or any food particles around the affected tooth. 
o Fractured teeth. There is no other way to remedy this other than rushing to the dentist for emergency dental care. Rinsing your mouth with warm water and applying cold compress decreases the swelling and reduces pain. 
o Knocked-out Teeth. Get a towel or any cloth and block the sink to avoid the tooth going down the drain. Rinse the tooth gently with warm water to clean it from any food particles. Place the tooth in a cup of milk and immediately bring it to your dentist. 
o Lodged foreign bodies. As carefully as you can, insert a dental floss. Be very cautious not to injure the gums. If the foreign body is lodged firmly in your teeth or gums immediately inform your dentist for emergency dental care.

Your dentist will ask you a brief history of your dental emergency. It is important that you provide your dentist with the correct information and be as accurate as possible. Below are some questions your dentist might ask you during a dental emergency:

o When did the pain start? 
o Does the pain come and go away? 
o Could you give me a brief description of the pain? 
o Have you taken any pain killers? What medications have you taken? 
o Where is the pain located? 
o Do you feel any symptoms such as fever or pain?

All of us have suffered from toothaches at one point in our lives or another. An ounce of prevention is still better than a pound of cure and preventing tooth and gum disease is as simple as brushing your teeth or visiting your dentist for checkups. But when dental pain is severe, or when we see the first signs of tooth and gum damage it is always important that we consult our dentist in order to prevent further damage and dental emergencies top dentist in birmingham.