No matter how careful you are, everyone will have a dental emergency at some point in their lifetime. This is categorized beyond simple bleeding gums or random tooth pain. The four main categories of dental emergencies are trauma, pain, bleeding, and swelling. The swelling is in the gums, and trauma could be a broken or cracked tooth or damage from a fall or fight.
If you suffer any of these issues, you could head to your nearest emergency room. However, an emergency room physician can only do so much for someone with a dental emergency. A call to Northstar Dental Care can save you time and pain. Below is an outline of the four situations that count as dental emergencies and what you should do about them.
Trauma
Accidents happen all the time. Someone trips and falls and lands on their face and chips, cracks or pops out a tooth, and then pain is instant. Another trauma could be an abscessed tooth, which is basically an infection in a tooth or around the tooth in the gums or the root of the tooth. This type of trauma should be treated immediately before the infection can work its way into your bloodstream and cause more damage.
A missing tooth in an adult is also categorized under trauma. If possible, keep the missing tooth. Place it in a glass of milk to help preserve it and get to an emergency dental office immediately. A professional dentist may be able to save the tooth by surgically implanting it back in the opening, so the damage is minimal.
Pain
Pain in the mouth, around a tooth, or in the gums is not usual in adults or even children. Children do have a bit of pain when they are getting their teeth in as babies or losing a tooth as a bit older child, but generally, pain not related to these events is cause for concern. Pain in the mouth or gums can be an indicator of something more serious and should be looked at by a dentist as soon as possible.
Bleeding
A small amount of bleeding can be expected when brushing your teeth too hard or if you have skipped a few days of brushing. A large amount of blood or bleeding of the gums for several days after brushing is cause for a trip to the dentist. Aggressive flossing can also cause unnecessarily bleeding and should be looked at by a dental professional.
Swelling
Like bleeding, swelling of the gums is not a normal reaction to normal brushing of your teeth or daily flossing. Swelling of the gums could be an indication of something wrong with your mouth or another part of your body. It is important to brush gently around the swelling and seek a professional dental consultation as soon as possible.
Even if the pain or swelling is minimal, yet lasts for a few days, it is better to be safe than sorry. Seek an emergency dentist to make sure you are healthy and do not have something worse going on in your mouth or body.
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The content is intended to augment, not replace, information provided by your clinician. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Reading this information does not create or replace a doctor-patient relationship or consultation. If required, please contact your doctor or other health care provider to assist you in interpreting any of this information, or in applying the information to your individual needs.
