An emergency dentist and dental clinic are often two different things; an emergency dentist is obviously available for very urgent dental situations, whereas a clinic may manage patients who don't have a dental emergency but who can't wait for their next appointment with their family dentist. Note a few signs that you may want to visit an emergency dentist, or when it's good to make an appointment with a dental clinic rather than assuming you have a dental emergency.
1. A crown comes off
When a crown or cap comes off a tooth, the delicate tooth underneath is now exposed and may suffer permanent damage. You never want to overlook this situation, but it may not be a true emergency. If you had the crown put on over a dental implant, that implant may easily stay in place without the cap, as it's usually done to make the tooth look real and not so much for protecting the implant. However, if you had a crown put over a cracked or broken tooth, this can allow for that fragile tooth to actually come loose. In this case, it can be good to have it replaced as quickly as possible.
2. Loose tooth
A loose tooth is rarely going to heal properly on its own, so you want to have a dentist fit it with a splint or other device to keep it in place while it heals. However, note the extent of the looseness. Can you actually wiggle it with your tongue, or is it just slightly loose? Is there blood? This might indicate an injury to the tooth that needs to be tended to, as well as keeping the tooth in place. If the tooth is loose because of an injury, you may have also chipped a bone in the jaw or otherwise injured your mouth and this too should be looked at by an emergency dentist.
3. Pain
If you feel pain when eating or drinking something very hot or cold, this could be developing cavities or erosion of the enamel. These are not usually emergencies, although you should have them checked out as soon as you can. If the pain is very sharp and under the tooth, the tooth may have nerve damage or damage to the root, or it may have a crack or chip. You may have also injured the jaw, as mentioned above. If the pain isn't caused by what you're eating or drinking, have it checked by an emergency dentist as soon as possible.
Share29 December 2016
When I had my first child, I was a nervous wreck. Every book I read gave different advice, and I just wanted to be right! By the time I had my third child, some of the stress had abated. I now realised, there were tons of different perspectives on everything related to raising children including dentistry. To help parents, I have created this blog dedicated to unraveling dental myths about children. I am including posts that weigh both sides of issues such as thumb sucking, dental caries, breastfeeding, flossing and any other topic I can think of. I hope you find the information you need to unravel dental myths, but most importantly, I hope you find some peace of mind. With kids and dentistry, there can be more than one right answer, and I want you to be able to relax and go with the answer that's right for you.
