Emergency Dental Care: When to Seek Help

We all experience pain from time to time, but how can you tell whether a toothache or other type of mouth pain is more serious and requires urgent care?

A dental emergency is any dental health issue involving bleeding, excruciating pain, an infection, or a tooth in danger of falling out. However, it can be challenging to determine if you require emergency dental care unless you are fully aware of what to look for.

What indicates a dental emergency? Can you get preventative care for any dental problems before they become emergencies? Let’s begin by identifying the warning indicators.

4 Indicators of a Dental Emergency

Several factors determine whether you should run to the dentist. Let’s look at five of the most important:

Painful and Bleeding Gums

On average, 64.7 million Americans sometimes feel serious pain in their gums. Swollen or bleeding gums after brushing or flossing are the early indicators of gingivitis or gum disease. Although not an emergency, this serious medical issue must be treated immediately.

You require emergency dental care, especially if you can’t stop the bleeding or if your gums are bleeding due to an oral trauma or lacerations.

Additionally, if you start seeing more frequent or greater amounts of gum bleeding, you should visit a dentist right away because this could be a sign of a more serious health issue.

Loose Teeth

Teeth that are properly positioned and in good oral hygiene should never be loose or wobbly. You can eat and speak normally if your teeth are mature, healthy, and have erupted correctly.

If you’ve discovered that a tooth is becoming wobbly or loose in its socket, your jaw or tooth may have been damaged in a dental injury, such as from a vehicle accident or sports injury. Or you may have a serious localized infection that’s causing your tooth to wiggle, such as gum disease or untreated cavities.

Regardless of the cause of your loose tooth, it will not get better on its own. So, as soon as you can, get emergency dental care.

Severe Toothache

The majority of the time, mild to severe tooth pain that only sometimes happens is not an issue, but a dentist should still examine it at your subsequent appointment.

A persistent toothache that lasts for more than one to two days keeps you awake at night, and is accompanied by excruciating pain and discomfort or fever should be taken seriously. This can mean you have a serious cavity that must be filled or a tooth infection that must be treated immediately by a dentist.

Dental Abscess

An uncomfortable infection that forms at the tooth’s base is known as a dental abscess or an abscessed tooth. Dental abscesses are typically brought on by chronic gum disease or an untreated cavity; however, they can also happen due to trauma or damage to your teeth, such as a crack or chip.

An abscessed tooth needs professional dental care, such as a root canal, as it won’t heal on its own. Without treatment, the tooth will continue to rot and degrade until it either falls out or needs to be pulled due to an infection that has already reached the gums and jaw.

Fever, a bad taste in your mouth, pus, and swollen glands are just a few signs of a dental abscess.

The Bottom Line

Dental emergencies are not something anyone plans for, but when they do arise, you want to take immediate action. But it is important to know what kind of dental problems require emergency care so that you can receive the best care possible.

Some situations that qualify for an emergency include painful and bleeding gums, loose teeth, severe toothache, and dental abscesses. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, contact a dentist as soon as possible.