Why People May Need Emergency Dental Services People sometimes think that emergency dental services are for people that get a toothache in the middle of the night. While this does happen, there are potentially dozens of other situations that can occur in which someone might need to see a dentist quickly. Some of these involve accidents or mishaps while others are more or less unexpected occurrences.
Tooth is hit by something
Teeth can be knocked out or partially knocked out when they make contact with something. This can be an attack like a mugging or from an auto accident. There are cases when people trip on the carpet at home and hit their teeth with something. Sports accidents like being hit with a baseball bat or running into a wall when playing basketball are common. An animal like a horse can move suddenly, kick or eject a rider. Everyday, people have teeth come out completely or are partially knocked out by some unexpected event.
When this happens, people will want to handle the tooth by the portion that would normally be seen in the mouth and not the root. These teeth can often be replaced back into the mouth but handling them correctly and quickly is often key to success. Patients will want to put the tooth in some milk or water with a dash of salt in it and get to the dentist as soon as possible.
Toothaches and abscesses
Toothaches and abscesses are common causes of severe dental pain. Many times a tooth will show an abscess at the gum area in the form of a pimple but often there is no outward sign. Toothaches can come about as a result of an infected pulp in the tooth from decay but also from cracked teeth. These are not always things that are caught on dental exams, as many cracks in teeth are more or less invisible until something happens to worsen them.
In these cases, people that can take an over the counter pain killer like aspirin may want to do so but will also want to see their dentist as soon as possible. Most offices will get the patient in the same day to get some kind of treatment started to get the patient out of pain.
Lost fillings or crowns or broken appliances
Fillings can fall out and crowns can come off. Sometimes these are not necessarily painful but other times these are. People will want to get into the office as soon as possible to prevent any pain but also to prevent other damage to teeth because of these issues.
People can also break any kind of dental appliance. This includes full dentures, partial dentures or wires on braces. Instead of attempting any kind of home repair, it is a better idea to make an appointment to see the dentist.
