How to Recognize Immediate Needs for Urgent Dental Care

When it comes to urgent dental care, you need to know how to recognize problems that warrant immediate attention. Some dental issues can wait for a dentist’s office to open, while others should be handled in an emergency clinic or hospital.

Symptoms like severe pain, bleeding, and swelling should be dealt with immediately. While home remedies such as taking over-the-counter pain relievers and rinsing with salt water can help, they should not be used as substitutes for treatment.

Toothache

Tooth pain can be a sign of a dental problem and should never be ignored. It’s also a sign that you need urgent dental care daphne al to prevent the pain from getting worse and causing further damage to your teeth or jaw.

A toothache can be caused by a cracked or chipped tooth, an infection in the tooth pulp, gum disease, objects stuck between your teeth and even sinus infections. Urgent dental care can quickly diagnose the root of your pain and treat it to ensure you have immediate relief.

While physicians are experts at treating health emergencies, they are not trained in the field of dentistry. Visiting the ER for a toothache is a waste of time and could lead to complications that can be treated by your dentist during regular office hours. If you have a severe toothache, rinse your mouth with warm water and take over-the-counter pain relievers until you can see your dentist.

Broken or Chipped Teeth

Although most broken or chipped teeth are a cosmetic issue rather than a health concern, the condition can lead to painful complications if left untreated. Over time, a cracked tooth can expose the inner pulp to bacteria.

If the injury occurs, contact an emergency dentist right away. While you wait for a dental appointment, use an over the counter pain reliever like ibuprofen, and ice the area to reduce inflammation. If the tooth has jagged edges, cover them with dental wax to prevent irritating your tongue or cheek until you can see an emergency dentist for treatment.

During your appointment, the emergency dentist will treat the break or crack. Depending on the severity of the break, they may use a dental bonding material or a dental crown to restore the appearance of the tooth and protect it from further damage. Alternatively, they may perform root canal therapy for a cracked tooth with a deep fracture or craze line.

Injuries to the Mouth or Jaw

If you have a jaw injury that is causing pain or extreme discomfort, this type of trauma is considered a dental emergency and should be treated right away. An injured jaw can leave you vulnerable to bacteria entering the teeth and gums, leading to a serious oral infection.

Trauma to your mouth or jaw can cause severe pain, swelling and even fractures of the facial bones. A knocked-out tooth, cracked or broken teeth and cuts or lacerations to your soft tissue are dental emergencies that need immediate attention.

Injuries can occur from engaging in sports or other outside activities, a car accident or even from acts of violence. If you have a painful dental emergency, apply pressure to stop any bleeding and call for an appointment immediately. If a jaw injury is causing you to be unable to chew, it is important that you seek medical attention as soon as possible to avoid complications such as malnutrition.

Abdominal Pain

Abdominal pain can be a symptom of many health issues, ranging from gas and indigestion to pregnancy or gallstones. The pain can be mild, moderate or severe. It can also come and go.

The best way to determine how serious your urgent dental care daphne al is is to tell your doctor when it started and how it feels. You should also describe whether the pain stays in one place or moves around the belly.

If your stomach pain is mild and comes and goes, you can usually manage it with over-the-counter medications. Anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can reduce swelling and pain. If the pain is severe, or it’s accompanied by other symptoms like fever, chills, nausea, vomiting or blood in your stool, you should visit an urgent care center right away. The doctors will order urine, blood and imaging tests to find the cause of the pain. Treatment may include medication or surgery. Acute abdominal pain can indicate a variety of conditions including appendicitis, cholecystitis or pancreatitis.