Your Comprehensive Guide to All You Need to Know About Dental Emergencies

Dental emergencies tend to come when you least expect them. Plus, they don’t come with any age restrictions, so your toddler or grandparent can be caught in the thick of things, and you’d be forced to seek the best dentist in NYC.

As annoying, inconveniencing, and scary a dental emergency can be, there are a plethora of treatments we provide under general dentistry in NYC to help you get your smile restored.

Dental emergencies are no different from medical emergencies, so time is of the essence when you are in one. This is why you need the proper dental emergency guidelines to ensure that you avoid any further complications that can arise due to delayed treatment.

Is It a Dental Emergency?

Dental emergencies occur very often, and they cut across all ages. However, you need to know what a dental emergency is before you dash to visit our emergency dentist near you, only to find that you don’t need emergency care.

Dental emergencies may range from a persistent toothache to a broken jaw. So, how would you know that you are in a dental emergency? Here are some questions that you can always use to help you decipher whether you need emergency care or not:

• Are you in severe pain? Is it persistent?
• Is your tooth knocked out, or is it partially knocked out?
• Are you bleeding incessantly?
• Do you have a broken or chipped tooth that is causing you lots of pain and is bleeding?
• Are your permanent teeth loose?
• Are your gums tender, swollen, filled with pus, and red? Do you feel feverish, pain when chewing, have a metallic or salty taste in your mouth, and have bad breath?

If you have answered the above queries in the affirmative, then you are in a dental emergency. The best thing to do would be to contact our office and inform our emergency dentist of what has happened while heading to our practice.

Don’t dilly-dally since you risk developing further complications and even have permanent damage.

What Isn’t a Dental Emergency?

As a general rule of thumb, you should remember that it is not a dental emergency if an issue can be resolved during regular office hours or even a day or two later. In most cases, certain issues may seem dire, but when you calm down, you’ll find that home remedies could help ease the problem.

For example, you might have a cracked tooth, but no sharp tooth fragments are lodged between your teeth, and you are not bleeding. So, there will be no need to rush to see our dentist. You can call to schedule an appointment, and our dentist can look at it during regular office hours.

Also, a broken orthodontic treatment, especially braces, has a knack for poking the soft tissues and cause you to bleed. However, if the wires are not poking you or there isn’t the risk of ingesting the broken piece, you can wait to seek dental treatment during regular hours.

What Are Some of the Prevalent Dental Emergencies?

These are the common dental emergencies:

• An Abscess

If you notice that your gums are tender, swollen, and have a pus pocket, contact us immediately since this is a severe infection. It has the potential of spreading and affecting other body parts, including the heart. Gaggle warm salty water, then make your way to our office.

• Broken or Chipped Tooth

If you are bleeding and in pain, then you will need to come in for treatment. If there are any fragments, pick them up and rinse them using warm salty water. If you are bleeding, hold moist gauze in the area and apply constant pressure while making your way to our offices.

• Broken Jaw

If you think that your jaw is broken, do not try to move it. Use a necktie or a scarf to secure the jaw to the top of your head. Then, head straight to our offices.

• Knocked-Out Tooth

This is a time-sensitive dental emergency. Pick up the tooth by the crown and rinse it. Don’t scrub it. You can return it to the socket or place it in a container with milk. Don’t let it dry out. Then come to our offices within 30 minutes because the success rate dwindles very fast if you don’t make it on time.

In any case, let us help you if you are in a dental emergency. Contact us at Faktor DMD if you need emergency care.