When you suffer an oral injury, the best thing that you can do is to immediately go to a dentist that knows how to handle dental trauma. Dental emergencies can happen anytime. You should prepare yourself for this kind of situation. This is why it is a good idea to look for a reliable dental trauma specialist even before a tooth injury occurs to you or any member of your family. Not all dentists are created equal and, certainly, not all of them are trained to handle emergency cases. You may need to spend a considerable amount of time doing research for the best dentist in your area. But if oral health is important to you then it is time that will be well spent.
When do you need to see an emergency dentist?
People tend to take dental health issues lightly. When most people experience pain in their teeth, their initial response is to take an over-the-counter pain relief medication. Do you need to go to an emergency dentist at the first sign of pain? Of course not. But you should not take dental pain lightly as well. Of course if it is a serious dental injury – if a tooth gets chipped or falls off altogether – then you really need to go to an emergency dentist immediately. But dental pain should not be ignored as well even in the absence of an injury or accident. Especially if the pain persists or worsens even after taking pain killers.
The advantage of going to an emergency dentist
One of the things that you need to know about emergency dentists is that you cannot expect them to go to your home when you experience a dental trauma. This is because most of the treatments to a dental injury requires sophisticated tools and equipment that can be found only in a dental clinic. The main concern of the emergency dentist is save the teeth of the patient and to relieve the pain. If you have suffered from a dental injury or if you have experience toothache in the past, then you know how excruciating and uncomfortable the experience can be. Before, the only option for dental emergencies is to go straight to the emergency room of a hospital. Fortunately nowadays there are many dentists already who specialize in dental trauma.
What you need to do before going to an emergency dentist
If one or several of your teeth are knocked off because of an accident, do not forget to save the tooth. A good emergency dentist will be able to save a knocked out tooth in most cases. All you need to do is to place the tooth or teeth in a container with a growth medium such as milk or water with salt. To temporarily relieve yourself of pain, you can also apply cold compress to the affected area. An emergency dentist can also replace broken crowns and fix damaged braces. Such cases need immediate attention because they can cause injury to other parts of the mouth.