If you get your tooth knocked out in an accident, the pain is usually very severe. It can also cause swelling, bleeding and other complications. Getting immediate emergency dental treatment is essential to minimize damage, prevent infection and save the tooth.
It’s important to know when a situation is a dental emergency and when it can be handled on your own. Some examples of dental emergencies include:.
Toothache
A toothache is often the first sign that a dental problem needs immediate attention. The throbbing pain may be caused by a variety of issues such as gum disease, cracked tooth, infected tooth pulp, food wedged between teeth, or sinus infections. Taking over-the-counter pain medication such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen can help reduce the symptoms of a toothache until you can get to an emergency dentist.
A persistently painful tooth may also be an indicator of a dental infection or severe decay, especially if it is accompanied by fever, swelling in the mouth and cheeks, a bad taste in the mouth, or bad breath. Infected or damaged teeth can lead to a variety of other problems such as a jaw misalignment (temporomandibular joint disorder), which can cause headaches, difficulty chewing and swallowing, or even facial pain. ERs can provide pain relievers and antibiotics, but they can’t perform restorative treatments such as fillings or crowns.
Knocked-Out Tooth
If your tooth gets knocked out, don’t panic. Taking the right steps can make it easier for your dentist to re-implant your tooth.
The key is to act quickly, ideally within 30 minutes of losing your tooth. Knocked out teeth with the highest chance of re-implantation are those that are reinserted in their socket and stored properly.
Handle the tooth carefully, and never touch the root. If you can, try to reinsert it into its socket (the hole in the gum where your tooth was). If that’s not possible, store the tooth in milk or a commercial tooth preservation solution and seek emergency dental care immediately.
Broken Tooth
Tooth breakage can result from a variety of causes, including biting down too hard and underlying decay. Regardless of the cause, patients should consider any tooth breakage to be an emergency and visit an emergency dentist right away.
Depending on the severity of the break, a patient might feel pain and sensitivity or experience bleeding. A broken tooth that exposes the pulp can lead to infection, requiring root canal treatment or other dental treatments to resolve.
Mild fractures that affect only the outer enamel might not hurt, but they should be evaluated by an emergency dentist to avoid complications. Small tooth chips can be covered temporarily with dental wax or sugarless chewing gum, and patients should avoid biting down on the broken teeth to prevent further damage or choking. In cases of severe breaks, an emergency dentist can place a crown or onlay to protect the weakened tooth and ensure good function. This will help avoid further tooth damage and infections.
Infected Tooth
Occasionally, a dental infection can cause significant pain and swelling that requires emergency treatment. These infections include irreversible pulpitis and necrosis, periodontal abscesses, apical and endodontic abscesses, and pericoronitis.
Infections of this nature need immediate treatment to prevent contiguous bacterial spread into the deep spaces in the neck, mediastinum, or face, leading to life-threatening infections and airway compromise.4
A patient with a dental abscess experiences pain, pressure, and swelling in the area of the tooth and surrounding gums. Emergency dentists can drain the pus and offer root canal therapy to remove the infected tissue and restore health to the tooth.
In some cases, antibiotics may also be prescribed to control the infection and relieve pain. ERs are typically not equipped to treat the full scope of dental emergencies, but can provide initial pain relief and antibiotics while a patient awaits an emergency dental appointment. They can also recommend over-the-counter or prescription pain relievers. Emergency dentists can then follow up to ensure that the underlying issues have been treated and the patient has been restored to optimal oral health.