Everyone talks about dental care only when it concerns teeth restorations. However, dentistry is a wide field that covers different specialties, including, cosmetics, pediatric, and emergency dentistry. Now many people are aware of emergency dentistry, even though it is a crucial arm of dental care practice.
What Is Emergency Dentistry?
It is a specialty in dentistry that is concerned with handling different oral emergencies among patients. This area of dentistry allows for flexibility of timing to accommodate abrupt oral problems that patients might have. If you heard of emergency dentistry near you, you probably know that the dental practice is open at all times. It is why you will find a dentist open on Saturday near you, even though it falls on a weekend. Besides that, dentists specialize in urgent dental care. They are always ready to take on any dental problems, both minor and severe.
What Is Considered A Dental Emergency?
Before you start acting like you need urgent dental care in Flushing, NY, as soon as you detect a small oral problem, you need to know the extent of the problem. It is not every dental problem that merits an emergency. Sometimes, the oral condition you have can be treated in typical dental care like other problems. While there is a fine line between an oral emergency and an ordinary dental problem, there are a few things that can help you decide whether or not it is an emergency. If you can answer the following questions, then you will know:
- Can the problem wait until the following day?
- Can you keep on with the normal functions of the mouth and your everyday activities?
- Can you control the pain or bleeding until the dental clinic near you opens?
- Are other parts of your body severely affected by your oral condition?
- Is the problem too out of the ordinary?
Once you have a clear response to the questions, then you can consider the following dental problems as emergencies:
- Cracked tooth – it is not every day that a crack on your tooth merits immediate medical attention. However, some cracks on teeth can introduce other oral problems. For example, a crack can be minor, but the impact can damage the pulp chamber and cause hypersensitivity on the tooth. This leads to unbearable pain, which requires dire dental care.
- Missing tooth – a missing tooth is a point of concern, especially when it is an adult tooth that is knocked out. Technically, a mature adult tooth will not be replaced by another natural tooth. This means that you should make as much effort as you can to extend the life of your natural teeth. Missing a tooth is an emergency because of the situations surrounding the phenomena. For example, the tooth might fall off following an accident or injury. The knockout can be so bad that part of the gum tissue and bone structure is badly injured. Besides, the quicker your talk to a dentist, the better your chances of restoring the original tooth back to its socket.
- Bleeding mouth – the mouth has its system of controlling bleeding. It is why you do not bleed too much even when you bite your cheeks or tongue. In some cases, however, bleeding can be uncontrollable. When this happens, it is a valid cause for requiring urgent dental attention by a dentist. Too much bleeding often indicates a severe oral problem, for example, periodontal disease.
- Wobbly teeth – the gum tissue and jawbone provide stable support to teeth. If your permanent teeth are shaking, it should be a cause for alarm. This means that you may have a problem with your gums, or with your bone structure. Whether the problem is periodontal disease or bone disorders, wobbly teeth qualify as dental emergencies.
Who Benefits From Emergency Dentistry?
You may think that children are the ones that mostly benefit from emergency dentistry. Truthfully, kids benefit a lot because of how care-free they are when playing and reluctant in taking care of their teeth. However, adults too benefit a great deal, particularly because adult/permanent teeth do not grow back.