Emergency dentistry helps to cater to immediate urgent dental needs. This branch of dental medicine helps to take care of trauma, severe pain and discomfort to the mouth. The different dental concerns that have to be taken care of immediately are taken care of. The downside will be that the dental concern progresses to a dental complication and requires specialised care for a longer time. By attending to the dental issue immediately the dental concern is set right and expert care is provided for better oral and dental health.
Frequent headaches
Headaches that are persistent and are not related to cold or fever might be signalling towards dental problems. Headaches that recur point towards underlying dental issues. Any issues that are present in the oral region will trigger a connection in the head and the result will be a symptom like a headache. It is important that the signs are not avoided and immediate dental care is obtained.
Issues in the gum lining, teeth, and other problems like teeth grinding all can trigger headaches. When muscles in the oral region are tense they will affect the connected muscles in the neck and head region creating tensions in the area and the result will be frequent headaches. Finding the underlying reason for the frequent headaches is important.
When warning signs like this are dismissed then the situation grows into a complicated issue. Some dental problems like teeth that are cracked or fractured or decay deep in the teeth sockets might not be visible to the naked eye and when warning symptoms are exhibited immediate action must be taken.
Unexplained severe toothache
Toothache is common and almost everyone has experienced this in their lifetime. Most of the time it is a ‘wait and see’ approach people take when it comes to toothache. Sometimes the toothache goes away as well as the body heals itself and the problem was not severe. But when the pain becomes severe that is the sign that more attention is needed.
Tooth ache points towards problems in the teeth. This can be a signal for a variety of dental problems like loose teeth, impacted teeth, dental cavities, or dental trauma experienced by a fall or accident. The important thing to keep in mind is that when the pain is severe it alerts that the issue has progressed and needs immediate care. Rather than avoiding it consulting a dentist when the pain occurs will surely help solve the problem faster.
Dentists will conduct a series of tests and coupled with oral examination will be able to find the cause of the severe toothache. Right after the check-up, dentists will be able to provide a treatment plan that will help in preserving oral and dental health.
Broken teeth/Loose tooth
Any contact trauma to the mouth be it an accident or sports injury or a fall can lead to broken teeth. Teeth might also get chipped off or come off lose from the tooth socket. All these situations need immediate care from a dentist. Teeth can get loose if there is an infection in the gum lining. Decay that builds up in the teeth can cause them to come off from the socket. Broken teeth are sometimes caused when biting into hard food like nuts or ice.
Chipped, broken, or loose teeth can bring in severe pain and sometimes bleeding. Making sure that the affected teeth does not go into other severe problems, immediate care from the dentist must be sought. At the clinic, the dentist will take steps to make sure that the teeth do not damage oral health. Steps will be taken to save the teeth and ensure pain is also controlled. Infections and pain are treated using antibiotics and pain killers. Dentists will also guide on the steps to be taken at home as aftercare routine.
Bleeding Gums
If there is bleeding from the gums, then emergency dental care must be sought immediately. The dentist will diagnose if this is due to a minor irritation from the gums or it is due to a serious dental concern. Bleeding needs to be stopped as soon as possible and this is what the dentist can do, hence the need to seek immediate care. Gums are soft tissues that get affected by infection, irritations to the gum lining. Habits such as smoking, chewing tobacco can also affect the gum lining adversely.
Infections due to plaque build-up in the teeth will irritate the gum lining, when this goes unchecked then infection worsens and bleeding can result. Food habits and lifestyle also affect oral health and more particularly that of the gums. Improper brushing and flossing can result in poor health of the gums. Consuming less healthy food will lead to improper nutrition obtained by the body and can result in the poor oral immune systems and related issues like gum infections.
Abscess
A tooth abscess is an infection that is painful and needs immediate care. The infection can be seen as a swelling around the tooth and also between the gum and the tooth region. Unchecked tooth damage or decay can cause focused bacterial action in that region and will spread to neighbouring teeth if no proper care is taken. The central portion of the tooth is infected and the whole tooth gets damaged due to this. The core which is infected produces more bacteria, pus and worn-out tissue. The alarming condition is that if this is unchecked then the pain and infection can also spread to other areas like the neck or head. Along with severe pain, tooth sensitivity, loose tooth can also be seen.
The different situations discussed here are not a complete list – there can be other situations also that indicate a dental emergency. Important to remember is the need to consult a dentist when there are conditions that signal dental issues. Signs and symptoms are indications of underlying problems and immediate care from the dentist must be sought.