Exactly what is a dental emergency?
These five situations should be treated as urgent situations that, if they happen, should prompt you to get in touch with an emergency dentist near you right away.
- Go to an emergency dental clinic near you if you have a broken tooth. An emergency dentist will be able to help you with the pain, and may even be able to save and restore that tooth.
- Unexplained, persistent, and worsening toothaches can indicate gum disease, infections, or an abscessed tooth.
- If you have continuous bleeding gums — beyond what is natural after flossing — along swelling and pain, you need to see an emergency dentist near you
- Some causes of swelling in your mouth and jaw can be extremely serious —infection, swollen lymph nodes, and even cancer. An emergency dentist can determine if your swelling is serious and act quickly if required
- The taste of pennies in your mouth can mean a loose filling or crown that can be a gilded invitation to infection and cavities
If you’re experiencing any of these issues, they aren’t routine. Don’t take a wait and see attitude. Rather, let a specially trained emergency dentist at a dental clinic in Edmonton help.
Where should I go in case of a dental emergency?
As a general rule, the hospital emergency room is not where to go in the case of a dental emergency. But there are exceptions. If any of the following are true about your dental emergency, go to the hospital emergency room:
- You are unable to or having difficulty breathing or swallowing
- You are bleeding severely or persistently
- You have sustained neck or head trauma
- You suffer from a serious chronic illness.
Except in those four situations, don’t go to the emergency room at a hospital. Doctors there may be able to help with initial pain management but are neither trained nor equipped to provide comprehensive dental treatment.
In a dental emergency like any of those talked about here, contact a dentist near you. They’ll be able to provide an immediate assessment and, when appropriate, same-day emergency service at any time of day or night.
What should I do until I get there?
Emergency dental clinics in West Edmonton will always try to provide urgent dental treatment as quickly as possible. That does not always mean that treatment will be immediate. There are things that you can do before arriving at an emergency dentist to help your situation:
- If your tooth has been knocked out, rinse it but don’t wash away anything attached to it. If you can put it back in its place without swallowing or forcing it, do that
- If putting your tooth back in its socket isn’t an option, put it in some milk or saliva and bring it with you. Handle the tooth as little as possible
- You can reduce swelling and limit bleeding by gently holding a wet cold compress to the gap in your teeth
- If you don’t have a cold compress, you can make one by: putting ice or frozen vegetables into a bag; and wrapping a wet washcloth around that bag
- You can take over the counter pain medication, but be careful when swallowing it not to let the pills touch your gums since they can burn that tissue. Tell your emergency dentist what you’ve taken when you get to the emergency dental clinic.
Dental emergencies can be stressful. Knowing in advance when urgent dental treatment is appropriate, where to go, and what to do while you await treatment can reduce that stress and increase the likelihood of a successful outcome.
