What Are the Common Dental Emergencies in Dentistry?

What Is a Dental Emergency?

It is an oral condition that is both urgent and severe that necessitates immediate medical attention. Dental emergencies are prioritized in dentistry because they put the entire oral cavity at risk of other dental issues. It is why emergency dentists near you are specialized dental professionals that handle dental emergencies only.

Unless you have had an oral emergency at one point in your life, you may not quite appreciate the value of emergency dental care. The dental needs are usually pressing for time, with a high risk of escalating, progressing, and worsening.

What Causes Dental Emergencies?

Urgent dental problems can occur due to various factors. The most probable cause of an emergency would be dental trauma from an accident or injury. However, underlying oral health problems can advance into dental emergencies within a short period. As such, anything that could cause an oral condition can be attributed to causing an oral emergency, including:

1. Poor oral hygiene
2. Sticking foreign objects in the mouth
3. Eating hard foods
4. Poor oral habits
5. Excessive teeth grinding and clenching
6. Participating in high contact sports and activities without protective mouth gear

What Are Considered Dental Emergencies?

More often than not, you will have a gut feeling that you need immediate attention from a dentist in Daphne at the sight of an oral emergency. However, the line between a typical dental problem and an urgent one is still blurry. The reason is that typical dental illnesses can quickly escalate into dental emergencies that require urgent care. At Milestone Family Dentistry, we have a list of emergency dental problems to help you know whether you need to visit an emergency dental clinic for treatment.

1. Knocked-out tooth – if you have lost a tooth, you need to see your dentist immediately. A natural tooth should typically not be falling out from your mouth unless due to a severe infection or dental trauma.
2. Cracked tooth syndrome – after a dental injury or accident, you could have one or more of your teeth incur a crack. The crack may sometimes only cause an aesthetic problem, but in several cases, result in internal damage. You may suffer from severe dental pain and inflammation due to a cracked tooth.
3. Abscessed tooth – features an infected tooth cavity so that the roots form an abscess. An abscess is a pocket filled with pus, usually resulting from an underlying infection. Such a tooth will cause swelling of the gums and dental pain unless it is treated. Besides, the abscess may spread the infection to other surrounding tissues in your mouth.
4. Dental-related fractures – a broken jawbone is the most common type of dental fracture. Other fractures may cause orofacial defects and necessitate surgical protocols for treatment.
5. Bleeding mouth – blood in your mouth will often result from an open wound or infected gums. Either way, any prolonged bleeding needs immediate care.
6. Severe toothache – is perhaps the most commonly reported dental emergency in dentistry. When the pain levels are unbearable, it is impossible to lead a normal and functional life without treatment. Besides, not all treatment protocols for toothaches involve an extraction procedure.
7. Damaged or missing oral appliance – prosthetics in dentistry is to help treat underlying dental issues. When you damage either your dentures, dental crowns, braces, or other dental appliances, you compromise the progress of your treatment.

Tips for Preventing Dental Emergencies

1. Seek treatment early – when you suspect you have an oral problem, whether you deem it severe or not, visit a dentist near you for treatment. Leaving dental issues untreated allows them to advance, progress, and worsen into dental emergencies.
2. Keep a clean mouth – brushing and flossing teeth daily are underrated practices for preserving oral health.
3. Wear protective mouth gear – a mouthguard will go a long way in protecting your teeth and jaw from dental traumas.
4. Watch what you eat – crushing ice cubes or hard candy will not do you any good. If anything, it only increases the chances of cracking and breaking your teeth.
5. Get treatment for bruxism – it is a condition featuring excessive teeth grinding, which causes teeth to wear down and hurts the jawbone.