10 Tips: When to Go to the Emergency Room for Dental
Given that we are advised to schedule a trip to our dentist regularly so that we have good dental health, we only associate dental issues with dentists. And in most cases, that does the trick, as most dental problems can be looked at over by our dentist. However, there are times when a dental problem is a dental emergency and needs one to head over to an emergency room to be attended to. Most people tend to take dental emergencies lightly as in most cases, they are not life threatening. However, that is wrong, as dental emergencies can have long-term effects if not taken seriously and looked at immediately. It may be due to the tremendous amount of pain the condition is causing you or your dentist is not available either due to it being after hours or them being on holiday; either way it is important to know when to head over to an emergency room for dental. This article will look to help with this by highlighting 10 tips that will help you know when you should head over to an emergency room for dental.
One of the instances when you need to head over to an emergency room for dental is if you have developed an abscess, which is due to an infection, in the gum or in the gap between the teeth. This should be taken seriously as it can result to damage to mouth tissues and surrounding teeth as well as spreading to other parts of the body if not attended to as soon as possible, leading to sepsis which is life-threatening. Signs of an abscess are usually swelling and pain in the mouth or gums.
Another tip on when one should go to an emergency room for dental, one that is backed up by the gurus over at FrontlineER.com, is in cases where you have dislodged a tooth, through a knock or something, and you have the tooth with the root intact. In such a case, it is important to head over to the emergency room as such a tooth can still be replaced, hence you won’t need to get an artificial tooth.
If you suffer a knock or accident that leads to a chipped, broken or dislodged tooth accompanied by lots of pain as well as severe bleeding that won’t stop after 10 minutes, then you should also head over to an emergency room as soon as possible for dental. The same applies to situations where the chipped, broken or dislodged tooth causes the face to swell up considerably.
Another instance when you should ensure you head over to the emergency room for dental, is if you suffer a knock in the mouth and you find that you have a tooth that is only partially dislodged and is loose. As per the gurus over at FrontlineER.com, heading over to an emergency room in such an instance is important to see if the tooth can be re-attached as soon as possible.
Sometimes, you may suffer an accident or a knock leading to one biting one’s lips or tongues; in fact, this happens quite often and it is not always an emergency especially if the damage is minimal. However, one should head over to an emergency room for dental if they suffer a cut due to biting on their lips or tongue that is larger than a quarter of an inch. Such a cut is significant and needs to be assessed at an emergency room as soon as possible.
Other that biting one’s lips and tongue, if the knock or accident leads to damage in the soft tissue in the mouth that causes bleeding that can’t be stemmed after a 10 minutes of applying pressure sterile gauze, then heading over to an emergency room for dental should be your next step as per the subject matter experts over at FrontlineER.com.
Sometimes the accident or knock may lead to one losing their filing or crown. In such cases, one should head over to an emergency room as soon as possible if the tooth which has lost the filling or crown is swollen, is bleeding excessively and is extremely painful. Such instances should not be taken lightly and a visit to an emergency room should be the result.
Speaking of filings and crowns, if losing any of them creates a gap in the affected tooth, with sharp and rough edges that could cause further harm or damage to the mouth, then this is yet another reason to ensure you head over to an emergency room as soon as possible to be assessed and attended to, and have the gap taken care of, as covered expertly over at FrontlineER.com.
If you have braces on or are undergoing orthodontic treatment, then you should also head over to an emergency room if your braces become loose or broken and begin to irritate any part of your mouth or even cause soft tissue injuries in the mouth especially after an accident or knock.
Burns in the mouth, mostly due to taking very hot food or drinks, are also dental emergencies if blisters form and don’t heal after a couple of days or they break and become infected or lesions develop. In such situations, one should ensure they head over to an emergency room as soon as possible to be attended to, to prevent the infection from spreading.
This article, and the 10 tips therein, will hopefully help you know when to go to an emergency room for dental, with additional information on this and other topics to be found over at FrontlineER.com.
