Dental Emergency

At some point in your life, you or a loved one are likely to experience some type of dental emergency. Whether it’s a loose tooth, bleeding gums, a toothache, or some other type of problem, you’re going to need some good information to help you decide what to do until you can reach your regular dentist or an emergency dentist.

Bleeding Gums

To determine if bleeding gums represent an emergency or not, it’s helpful to know when the gums began to bleed. For example, if you experience some type of trauma, such as a collision or sports-related injury to your mouth, bleeding gums could represent an emergency. Although the situation may resolve itself on its own, it’s better to be safe than sorry. You may have broken or cracked a tooth, which could set you up for a painful infection. So if you experience bleeding following some type of trauma to your mouth or teeth, go ahead and make an emergency appointment.

Another possible cause of bleeding gums is gum disease – a chronic inflammatory infection of the gum tissue surrounding the teeth. One indication that this might be the case is if your gums tend to bleed after you brush and floss. Although gum disease is not an emergency requiring urgent attention, you should still schedule an appointment if you suspect that you have developed this serious condition.

Abscessed Tooth

An abscessed tooth is definitely a true dental emergency. If you experience one, you will definitely know it because you will be in significant pain. An abscess is a severe type of infection within a tooth that can threaten the loss of the tooth if left untreated. Dental abscesses are often treated using a root canal procedure. As bad as that may sound, a root canal procedure actually relieves the patient of their pain and saves the original tooth.

Toothache

Pain is a classic sign of an emergency. It is your body’s way of telling you something is very wrong. A toothache can be experienced as different types of pain, such as:

Throbbing pain
A dull ache
Stabbing pain

If you experience a severe toothache, you definitely want to contact your dentist right away to make an emergency appointment. They will help provide you with prompt pain relief and make a determination of what is causing your pain so that the proper treatment can be provided.

Lost or Damaged Restorations

Dental restorations like dental bridges, crowns, and fillings are not meant to last forever. They will

eventually experience some wear and tear and require replacement. When they become worn out or damaged, you should contact your dentist or emergency dental services to have them restored to their original state as soon as possible.