Dental emergencies often have a way of happening after business hours, on weekends and holidays. However, your dentist may offer a call service that can advise you about what to do if you encounter a dental emergency when your regular dentist is unavailable. Depending on the circumstances, you may be advised to visit the nearest emergency room or to take certain steps and come to see your regular dentist as soon as they open in the morning.
Common dental emergencies include a crown falling out, a cracked tooth or a broken tooth. Other common emergencies include things such as a broken jaw, something caught between the tooth, a severe toothache or a sports injury.
Patients should go to an emergency dentist if they are in severe pain, or at risk of permanent disfigurement to their jaw or teeth unless it is dealt with immediately. Other reasons to go see an emergency dentist are if you know that you have a severe tooth infection.
What to Expect
Once you’re at the hospital or dentist office, the emergency dentist will assess the situation and give you appropriate medications such as antibiotics or pain medication. The dentist will explain available dental treatments to you to help solve the emergency. Depending on the nature of the emergency you may need anesthesia or go under sedation in order to relax you during treatment or to serious discomfort. You may have to stay overnight at the hospital depending on the severity of the emergency.
Never delay seeking emergency dental treatment if you have any kind of situation where you think it’s an emergency. Your first call should be to your dentist’s office at Valerin Dental.