Making the choice to visit an Emergency dentist is often not a light one. Because of the higher cost
and the emergency care part of insurance policies, most individuals would be inclined to wait it out
and visit their regular dentist as soon as they open next without knowing how serious their dental
problem is. Others may use Emergency Dentist office services for problems that are not so urgent
because of the convenience aspect of not scheduling an appointment, and are often unaware of
how much of the cost their insurance really is or is not covering. Knowing what is and what is not
considered to be a true urgent dental emergency can prevent the aforementioned situations from
arising.
The most obvious problem that requires an emergency dentist visit would be a tooth that has been
either completely or almost completely knocked out of the gums. The first thing to know regarding
this is that the odds of the tooth being saved and re-positioned in the mouth are good if the proper
steps have been taken immediately. If a tooth has been knocked moderately loose or from its
regular alignment in the gums, this also warrants an urgent visit to the Emergency Dentist to re
align and stabilize the tooth back in its place. If a tooth has been chipped, you need to gauge if it is
causing any pain or not; typically a chipped tooth that is not painful is not a reason to run to the
Emergency Dentist because your general dentist can easily remedy it. Be sure that you watch the
types of food you eat in the meantime because it will be susceptible to chipping more.
When a tooth has actually been completely fractured or cracked, it is extremely important to seek
attention form your Emergency Dentist. In the majority of incidents with cracked or fractured
teeth, the tooth has been badly injured, both on the inside pulp of the tooth and the outside crown
of the tooth. In some cases, a fractured or cracked tooth is unable to be salvaged, requiring a full
root canal and crown. Leaving a fractured or cracked tooth untreated can lead to numerous
complications such as infection of the gums and others that will ensure that the tooth will not be
saved.
Another dental emergency that is often hard to decipher is when any part of the mouth, tongue,
lips or cheeks has been severely punctured or torn. Because of the proximity of the mouth and all
of its tissues to the brain and main blood vessels, any type of laceration, tear, rip, or puncture can
cause excessive bleeding. This type of injury should be treated immediately either at an Emergency
Dentist or a general Emergency room to repair the damaged tissues and prevent any type of
infection from ensuing. It is extremely important to completely avoid any over the counter
medications for pain in this instance because most OTC pain relief medications are anticoagulants
and will worsen the bleeding.
Any kind of swelling, knot, bulge or growth in the mouth around a tooth and the surrounding areas
is also a huge red flag for a trip to the Emergency Dentist. Most often this ends up being what is
called an, oral abscess and the biggest indicator of a severe infection. In this situation, it is
extremely important to get to the emergency dentist to clean out the infection before it spreads
into your blood and becomes life threatening. If you are unable to get to an Emergency dentist
right away then go to your local Emergency Room for medical attention.