You always want to err on the side of caution when it comes to your teeth. If you think you have a dental emergency, call your West Bloomfield Township dentist and ask questions. Find out if you need to be seen right away, or get advice about what to do in the meantime.
Diagnosing a Dental Emergency
Some dental emergencies are obvious – a dislodged or knocked out tooth, extreme tooth pain, jaw or mouth trauma.
Other dental emergencies are harder to diagnose. You may have taken a hit to the mouth and be bleeding like crazy, but there may only be a few small cuts and nothing at all wrong with your teeth. There are a lot of tiny blood vessels in the mouth that can produce an alarming amount of blood in no time at all.
You may have lost a porcelain crown, broken a veneer, or have a loose filling. These are all cosmetic dentistry problems that need to be addressed, but they don’t always require a same-day dental visit.
All dental emergencies – or potential emergencies – have the power to cause serious anxiety. When in doubt, call your dentist. Find out what your next best steps are so you can protect your oral health and save your teeth.
Prioritize Your Oral Health
Some people are reluctant to report a dental emergency to their dentist because they dread the idea of having to get work done on their teeth. We can say with confidence that the pain you are experiencing now or will eventually experience because you aren’t addressing the problem is far greater than any discomfort you will undergo at the hands of your gentle dentist.
For patients who are incredibly anxious or suffering from severe dental trauma, sedation options are available to make it easier to get treatment. This is often recommended in the most serious cases to make the work go faster for the patient and be easier for the dentist to be efficient.
You only get one set of permanent teeth. If you have major dental problems looked at right away, you stand a better chance of needing less dental care to handle the complication and can prevent other problems from developing as a result of it.
Emergency Dental Procedures
Some of the most common repairs for dental emergencies include the following:
- Root canal therapy: Major infection, cavity out of control, damaged tooth – a root canal can save your tooth and prevent extraction, which also saves you from needing a dental restoration like a dental implant to take the missing tooth’s place.
- Tooth extraction: Your dentist will always do whatever is possible to save a permanent tooth. In some cases, unfortunately, this isn’t possible, and it is necessary to pull the tooth and settle on a restorative procedure like an implant or bridge to fill the space.
Only your West Bloomfield Township knows for sure if you’re suffering from a dental emergency, so do not hesitate to reach out for advice and help. Contact us immediately at 248-907-1300 to discuss your circumstances and to schedule an appointment. Take every ache and pain seriously – it could be the difference between a minor repair and a major restoration.